I Can't Sleep

By Jordan M. Tew, Executive Director • Baptist Publishing House

This article is an excerpt from the Baptist Expositor “Psalms of Asaph: Thanking and Praising God” Winter 2024 quarterly. You can order BMA Sunday School curriculum at baptistpublishinghouse.com.

A typical piece of advice a pastor might give to someone with a discomforted soul would be to “remember the Lord.” According to Psalm 77:3, the psalmist did remember God, but that memory made him feel “overwhelmed” or faint and weak. When studying this passage, I expected to see the psalmist write, “I remembered God, then everything was all right.” However, he remained disturbed. It appears he was saying, “Yes, I remember God’s past actions, but right now, He’s not doing anything to help!” We might all think back to the “good old days” when God seemed to bless, but question what He is doing now. The answer can be disturbing. By using the word “Selah,” the psalmist encourages readers to slow down and reflect upon 77:1-3.

The psalmist addressed God directly, even accusing Him that “Thou holdest mine eyes waking” or “You keep my eyes open” (77:4a). The psalmist also expressed that “I am so troubled that I cannot speak” (77:4b). Have you ever been so emotionally distraught that you could not sleep and simply could not talk about your feelings? Psalm 77:4 shows that even a worship leader and biblical author had similar struggles. Have you ever felt that God was keeping you awake? Pray for fellow Christians and their leaders who are facing internal struggles.

Unsuccessfully, the psalmist attempted several ways to resolve his struggle:

• He “considered the days of old, the years of ancient times” or years long ago (77:5). However, even pleasant memories of the “good old days” did not bring sleep.

• He remembered “my song in the night” (77:6a). Perhaps this referred to a lullaby or other peaceful song that had often helped him to find sleep but failed to do so under present conditions.

• He communed or pondered within his own heart and searched diligently within his spirit for answers, but to no avail (77:6b). More times than I care to admit, I have tossed and turned at night and attempted to “figure out” what to do about something bothering me.

Psalm 77:10 seems to be the hinge upon which this psalm turns. The psalmist then said, “This is my infirmity,” or perhaps his own weakness and failure in attempting to use the memory of the old days, lullabies and diligent searches. In contrast, he continued to say, “But I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.” Whereas the psalmist questioned if the Lord’s grace and power had changed, he began to remember the Lord’s works and wonders of old (77:11). We know the Lord never changes, and the psalmist will come to that conclusion by the psalm’s end, but there may be seasons in life when His people struggle to see Him at work.

Perhaps you have wondered if personal sins or shortcomings have caused God to abandon you. If so, consider following the psalmist’s example. Notice that the psalmist changed from my, my, my, to Your works, Your wonders and Your doings. Such contrasts are further seen between the psalmist’s actions before and after 77:10. Before, he had thought about his own “old times” (77:5), but after, he focused upon remembering “the years… of the most High,” the Lord’s “works,” and “wonders of old” (77:10-11). Before, he had diligently searched with “my spirit” (77:6), but afterward, he meditated upon the Lord’s work and doing (77:12). What an obvious change. Instead of meditating and searching on his own, the psalmist turned to the Lord in meditation. Follow this example and meditate upon all God’s works and talk about His actions. There are many internal struggles and things about life and eternity I will never “figure out” on my own. I need the Lord’s help. Fortunately, the Lord has not forgotten that He is, indeed, merciful and gracious.