Emotional Imbalance
“My spirit ponders: will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?” (Psalm 77:6–9)
Asaph ceaselessly seeks YHWH and to understand why things are happening in the manner they are. Where is the faithful God of Israel? Despite his cries, he has no assurance he is heard. He knows the records of old, his YHWH has moved and delivered in the past, the Tanakh reveals this. He seeks God’s provision and protection. Yet, he comes up empty. He is disturbed, weary, faint, and troubled. This psalmist has no words for the anguish he feels. All he can do, despite the emptiness he senses around him, is to sing his “song in the night,” meditate, and ponder on Who YHWH has revealed Himself to be.
Beginning in verse 11 and continuing through the end of the psalm, Asaph’s words focus exclusively upon “the deeds of YHWH.” Asaph recounts his “wonders of old.” He meditates on “all [YHWH’s] work.” He speaks to others, and himself, of YHWH “deeds.” God’s kindness to Israel and His preeminent place in all creation are extolled. YHWH becomes the sole focus of the thoughts and words of Asaph. This is a dramatic shift. No longer is Asaph consumed by his despair. Instead, he is abiding in the character of God.
The reason for the change is found in verse 10. There Asaph writes, “Then I said, It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed.’” Asaph confesses it is his emotional state, his “grief,” which has colored the manner in which he perceives YHWH and His actions. Because of his sorrow, his anxiety, his worry, he thinks God’s favor has departed. Asaph had allowed circumstances to define for him who YHWH is. His emotions have colored who he believes God to be. This recognition causes Asaph to shift his attention from himself, his issues, thoughts, feelings, and events, to YHWH and Who He is. God, His nature, actions, and history, would become the lens through which Asaph’s life was considered. Not the other way around.
As Asaph shows, affect, a person’s emotional state, directly impacts upon how that person views their world, the people they are in relationship with, and even Who God is. Telling someone to “cheer up,” is not sufficient to address this. Thinking they will just get over it, again, is not enough. It is generally recognized that “perception is reality.” So, what needs to happen is that we must come alongside the one who is struggling and help them alter their perceptions. As Psalm 77 reveals, the child of God needs to be encouraged in the pursuit of Jesus as the center of his or her identity.
The issues experienced by the believers in Corinth are another example. Their problems originated with their loss of focus on Jesus, a loss of perspective. This directly led to a confusion of who they were. In addressing this, Paul intentionally starts off by calling them “saints.” Doing this he reminds them that “by [God’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Co 1:30–31).
As Asaph and Paul show, a people’s relationships with Jesus encompass and are influenced by all the aspects of their person. Aside from the spiritual component, we need to consider and exhort them in all the other aspects of their person, the physical, mental, emotional, and social portions. Each of these areas together enhance or detract from a person’s relationship with Jesus and the expression of His Spirit through their lives.