Have you ever woken up from a dream in which someone said or did something hurtful to you and then proceeded to be frustrated with that person as you got ready that morning? If you went to that person and explained why you were upset it might make for a strange conversation. At some point you would have to recognize that your dream wasn't reality - even though it seemed very much like reality.
I've been known to have some pretty crazy dreams. Sometimes they consist of fights with Ben. It's so difficult to set the dream aside when I first wake up. The dream seems so real and I'm tempted to be angry with the real Ben for whatever "dream Ben" said.
Psalm 77 asks some questions of God that we've all probably asked at some point.
Has God's steadfast love run out?
Are His promises no longer true?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Is God responding out of anger and refusing to be compassionate?
Unlike a confused and maybe defensive friend hearing about your frustration based on a dream, God listens. Verse 1 says, "I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me." He listens to our questions and even encourages that we ask them in order to seek Him. Even though He is well aware of His steadfast love, grace, and compassion towards us and our faithlessness and forgetfulness towards Him, He still listens. And then, He reminds us that it was just a dream.
After struggling with these tough question the psalmist starts to compare the questions with the things he knows to be true about God - the things God has done in the past, how mighty and holy God is, the redeeming work God is committed to - and he is reminded of God's character.
We need the reminder that some of our fears, concerns, and doubts aren't based in reality. Instead of playing the dream over and over again in our minds we need to seek Truth. Praise the Lord - we serve a God who hears and reminds.
-- Emily Larzabal