After a good deal of complaining a change begins in the way Asaph saw his situation. Verses 10-12 express how the change unfolds.
“And I said, ‘This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds'” (NKJV).
Asaph made a decision to change the focus of what he would remember. Instead of claiming God as the source of his trouble, as in verse 3, he remembers the works of the Lord and His wonders of old. This is what Dennis calls “selective memory.”
We can choose what we allow ourselves to think about and remember. There are some things in our past that are not worth bringing up. We can choose to focus our thoughts from the past on the things that will serve our faith.
Asaph turned his memory into a tool that would feed his faith. He then said he would meditate on all of God’s work. A memory is a replay of the past, meditation is a pre-play of the future. The works that had been remembered became the basis for seeing the potential for the future.
Our meditation in God’s Word should include picturing ourselves as if the promise of God was already changing our situation. Meditating on God’s Word is a powerful tool for establishing and creating the plan of God.
Finally, Asaph began to talk of God’s deeds. He put the promises of God in his mouth. He spoke of the things he remembered and meditated. His words then became tools of encouragement and strength rather than defeat and confusion. A new question began to arise within Asaph: “Who is so great a God as our God?” (v. 13).
His entire perception had been turned around. Faith was alive and pouring out of his heart. Now he could see God as the source of answers and deliverance rather than the source of trouble and heartache.
He continues in the following verses to proclaim God’s greatness. Notice the insight Asaph has obtained,
“Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (vv. 19-20).
The psalmist embraced the confidence that though he may come to a place where there seems to be nowhere to go, God will bring him through—even if He must divide a sea to do it. The path of deliverance is always there.
A tremendous transformation had taken place. A new attitude about God had come from the steps he took out of confusion.
Our ideas and attitudes can be transformed. The path to power is before us and can be seen through the eyes of an attitude that has been changed to look at God and His greatness. Just like with flying an airplane, we must adjust our attitude to increase our altitude.
