I will remember the LORD’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.
PSALM 77:11-12 (CSB)

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Have you ever had a bad day? Have you ever had a bad day that made you feel like the whole world was against you? Have you had the kind of bad day that turned into a bad night, a day and night when nothing seemed right and there was no hope of it ever being right again? 

You are not alone. 

Everyone has a bad day now and then. Asaph, a singer of songs, a worship leader of worship leaders, had a bad day. Read the first ten verses of this psalm. Verses 4-6 get to the heart of the matter:

Sleepless nights, restless and fitful nights, come to us all at one time or another. Asaph said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me,” (verse 10). He was at the point of giving up. You can almost hear Asaph singing along with Johnny Mathis and Deneice Williams, 

Too Much Too Little Too Late, Johnny Mathis, You Light Up My Life, Columbia Records, 1978

Whatever you do, do not stop reading at verse 10. Whatever you do, do not give up during a sleepless night or a hard time. 

Look at verse 11: “But then I recall all you have done, O LORD.”

Remember. Call to mind all the wonderful things God has done for you in your life. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Asaph says, 

He turns his focus to Israel caught between the Egyptian army and the deep Red Sea. This is what you call a Dead End. Until God showed up. 

We soon arrive at one of my favorite verses in the Bible. 

Bottom line? “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron,” (verse 20). 

With God, there are no dead ends. Where we feel delay, God is executing his perfect timing to declare his glory to all who pay attention. When we see no way out, God has a pathway known only to him. When we prepare our minds for certain destruction, God makes a way where there is no way. 

What delay or dead end are you facing today? Turn your song sung blue into a song of praise by remembering what God has done in the past. Recall that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Rejoice that even the end of our story is better than the beginning. 

Sometimes we need a sleepless night to understand the nightingale’s song. Asaph’s dark night of the soul awakened the dawn with newfound hope. Never give up on Saturday night after a crucifixion. Sunday’s coming. 

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I will remember; I will put my hope in my God, my Savior, and my Deliverer.

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Our Father, thank you for old songs sung true. Thank you for turning blue notes into brassy praise. Thank you that you never lead us to dead ends, you never lead us ultimately into cemeteries. Instead, you always lead us on to the other side where there is light, life, and everlasting love. I cannot stop thinking that of all your mighty works, the best is yet to come. Of all the wonderful music ever played, the best is yet to be performed. However dark this night may be, joy is coming in the morning. Amen.