What’s on Your Mind?
Today I was reading the verse of the day on the Bible app which was Psalm 77:11–12. It reads:
“11 I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.”
A Moment of Truth on Meditation
If you’re like me, then it can be very easy to meditate on negative things. I used to see it as just mentally replaying a conversation, self-reflecting, or imagining potential outcomes. If that were all it was—quick and done—it wouldn’t be so bad.
But let me be honest: I wasn’t just self-reflecting. I was meditating on the negative. And doing that—especially as a habit—can damage your life and negatively affect those around you. Trust me, I know.
When God’s Word Is Right on Time
When I read today’s verse, I knew it was an on-time word from God just for me. In both great moments and especially during trials, I must remember who God is and what He has done—not focus on the problems in front of me. As I encourage myself, I encourage you: do the same.
Valid Questions
Since verses 11–12 spoke to me, I kept reading the whole chapter. No matter how many millennia ago it was written, Psalm 77 still speaks to us today.
In verses 7–9, Asaph asks several (likely rhetorical) questions:
“7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?
8 Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah”
We’ve all been there. Crying out to God. Asking these same questions.
Wondering if He’s finally fed up with our foolishness, disobedience, or slothfulness.
Wondering how we fell into the same trap set by the devil, again and again.
(Did I just tell on myself?)
Shifting Our Focus
This is where I’d usually start the mental replay- “meditate”- on the negative. But like Asaph, we can acknowledge the situation and still choose to remember the character of God.
“10 And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?
14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah” (Psalm 77:10–15)
When we're in the middle of trials, we must turn our minds from the problem to the greatness of God.
Full disclaimer: this takes serious, intentional practice. (I’m speaking to myself, too.)
Walking In Water
Verses 16–20 are what really inspired this post—especially 18–19. I may overshare, but I hope everything we've covered so far has blessed you. Now let’s dive in.
“16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about.
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.
20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.” (Psalm 77:16–20)
Verse 19 and My Mental Image
This blew my mind:
“Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.”
Journey with me. We know Jesus walked on water (Matthew 14:22–33). That’s amazing. But walking in water!? That’s a whole other level!
We’re not talking puddles or pools here, this is about great waters, seas, OCEANS!
The average height for a man is 5'6" (Boom! I’m above average—5'10" on a good day with a mini-fro). The tallest man alive today is 8'3" (goodness!). The deepest part of the biggest ocean on Earth? About 35,800 feet! (I wish I could capitalize numbers for added emphasis).
Now, if you read the Why 1:16? series, you know we love simple math:
35,800 feet – 8 feet 3 inches = HE’S DROWNING, Y’ALL.
Unconscious and crushed before he even reaches the bottom.
God’s Stroll Through the Deep
When I read verse 19, I imagined God just strolling through the deep like it was nothing.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying this was a vision from God. I just pictured it in my mind. And it makes sense why His footsteps weren’t known—nobody can travel that deep and survive to see them.
To know and serve a God that great—who can stroll through the deepest depths of the ocean—how can we not bow in worship to Him, instead of bowing to fear or our problems?
The Waters Were Afraid
It gets even deeper. (No pun intended.)
If you’re afraid of something, one natural response would be to run and hide, then return when it has gone past. When I read verse 16 again after reading verse 19 and having that initial mental image, I thought, “God’s path in or through the water, doesn’t have to mean the water is even touching Him.
Instead, the water is so afraid of His majesty that it runs and hides, clearing a path for Him as he walks to wherever He wants to be, then it returns to its place once He’s gone far enough away, covering His footsteps with 35,800 feet of water.
And even though water isn’t a sentient being like us, it still had to obey the voice of Jesus (Mark 4:39). So, it’s not crazy to envision it fleeing in fear as God walks through its midst.
Again, with God being so great, awesome and majestic that the water clears a path for Him in fear, why should we fear what’s around us.
If God is for us, who can be against us! (Romans 8:31).
The Whole World Lit Up
I’m getting long-winded again (thanks Dad for that trait), but I have to touch on verse 18.
“The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.”
Not long ago, I was sitting in my car during a lightning storm. I could see flashes across the whole sky—dozens of lightning bolts lighting up the clouds in different ways. I heard thunder rolling behind each strike. It was a humbling and amazing sight to see.
But even that was just a small fraction of the sky.
Verse 18 talks about a storm that lit up the world and made the entire earth tremble.
Yes, Psalms is poetic—but the God behind that poetry is real and powerful.
Poetry and Truth
Although the book of Psalms may be classified as poetry, this is still the Almighty, the Most High God that we’re talking about. So, I personally see all that we’ve read as what can happen when God allows us to witness even an ounce more of His glory than what we normally see or experience.
Our God is too great for us to allow negative situations to be the focal point of meditation. Even when it feels like God has forgotten us, remember (Jason), He hasn’t.
Final Verse
“20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
In Exodus 14 we read about Moses leading the Israelites across the dry land of a split Red Sea. Verse 21 of chapter 14 says that God caused a strong wind to move back the water all night. As the Israelites walked through, verse 22 says that the waters were like walls on their right and left.
It was the God working through Moses to perform this miracle. Since it was God working through Moses, the people saw Moses, but the waters saw God and dared not come crashing down on Him nor His people who He was leading like a flock as they trembled in fear.
Romans, Chapter 8
Psalm 77 is worth revisiting anytime trials come. But also consider Romans 8—a powerful reminder of how God feels about us.
Here are a few key verses to declare over yourself:
Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”
Romans 8:31
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:32
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
Romans 8:37–39
“37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
May the Lord bless you, keep you, shine His face upon you and be gracious to you.