{"id":85618,"date":"2020-12-29T17:29:03","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T15:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=85618"},"modified":"2020-12-29T17:29:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T15:29:03","slug":"bridging-head-and-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bridging-head-and-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging Head And Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"85618","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"644","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Letting the light of the truths we know permeate the darkness we may feel in our heart\r\n\r\n","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At one time or another most of us grapple with some deep spiritual questions. Though my troubles have, thank God, never been as intense as those of King David or Asaph, I do live in exile and perhaps it\u2019s to my discredit that I don\u2019t feel it as painfully as our Psalms authors. Nevertheless, I\u2019ve had occasion to experience that seemingly no-way-out, inconsolable, sleeplessness-causing despair related in the opening verses of this chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Asaph sounds as if he\u2019s almost haunted by his deep philosophical questions about God, the manner in which he approaches his expression of despondency tells a story of a deeply spiritually connected man. The first thing Asaph says is \u201cWhen I lift up my voice to God and cry, He will hear me (77:2).\u201d His words are quite different from those in Psalm 44:10: \u201cYou have rejected and disgraced us.\u201d That sounds more like an indictment of God\u2019s relationship with the nation, whereas in Asaph\u2019s instance, however deeply discouraged he is personally, he acknowledges his faith that God is listening, and a relationship still exists. Nevertheless, although he knows this truth, it still does not comfort him (77:3).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following his heart-rending declaration of despair, and in the context of his ever-present belief, Asaph poses a series of rhetorical questions with complete honesty of emotion:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will God abandon us forever?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will God again find favour in us?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has God\u2019s kindness come to an end?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is God\u2019s decision final for all generations?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has God forgotten to be gracious?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has God\u2019s anger closed off His mercy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And how does Asaph then go on to answer these questions for himself? By grasping on to that which he knows intellectually to be true. He knows that God is listening even if there\u2019s a disconnect between that intellectually understanding and what he is currently experiencing in his heart. So, he proceeds to rely on what he knows, and delves into recounting God\u2019s previous deeds that demonstrate favour, kindness and mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asaph eventually finds a way to bridge the gap between head and heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no shame in having doubts, it happens to the best of us, and always has. Asaph teaches us to reach deep for the truths we know and \u201ccommune with (our) hearts (77:7)\u201d to let those truths permeate our darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":85637,"id":85637,"title":"ps77-head heart","filename":"ps77-head-heart.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps77-head-heart.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bridging-head-and-heart\/ps77-head-heart\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps77-head-heart","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":85618,"date":"2020-12-29 15:28:41","modified":"2021-04-14 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