May 4, 2026
Sermon summary
Florence preaches on Psalm 77 as part of a series on lament, trust, and praise, focusing especially on lamenting unanswered prayer.
She begins by naming the “noise inside our heads” — worry, doubt, distress — and explains that the Bible does not sugarcoat painful realities. Biblical lament is presented as a faithful practice: crying out to God, bringing complaints honestly, asking God to act, remembering what he has done, and ultimately reaffirming trust.
Psalm 77 shows Asaph in deep distress. He cries out to God, prays through the night, cannot sleep, and asks raw questions about whether God has rejected him or forgotten to be compassionate. Florence emphasises that these honest questions are included in Scripture, showing that God can be approached with raw emotion.
The turning point comes when Asaph chooses to remember God’s past faithfulness. His focus shifts from his circumstances to God’s character. Florence draws out four movements in the psalm: Asaph looks around, looks in, looks up, and looks back. Remembering God’s works leads him to praise God’s holiness, power, and faithfulness.
The sermon then points to the Exodus, where God made a way through the Red Sea — “a pathway no one knew was there.” Florence applies this to those who feel trapped in sorrow or weariness, suggesting that God may still be leading them through, even when they cannot yet see the way.
Finally, she connects the “way” to Jesus Christ, who calls himself the way in John 14:6. Unlike Asaph, Christians can also look forward to the hope of eternal life, where God will wipe away every tear. The closing encouragement is: whatever is happening in life, look around, look in, look up, look back, and look forward.
00:00 Introduction: the noise
inside our heads
01:21 The Bible does not sugarcoat reality
01:36 Recap of the lament, trust, praise series
02:42 What biblical lament is
04:08 “Hallelujah Anyway” and remembering God’s goodness
05:13 Psalm 77: lamenting unanswered prayer
06:37 Asaph looks around: crying out to God
08:23 Crying out as a faith-filled step
09:55 Asaph names his struggle and complaint
11:06 Lament is not a quick formula
12:04 God’s timetable and growing trust
13:41 Asaph’s honest questions to God
15:30 Raw questions are welcomed in Scripture
16:20 The mismatch between belief and experience
17:17 God’s character is reliable despite our feelings
18:53 The dark before the dawn
19:14 Asaph looks in: remembering what God has done
20:46 The importance of what we think about
22:48 Asaph looks up: praising God’s character
23:40 Remembering God’s works leads to praise
25:04 Practising praise in private prayer
25:49 Keeping our eyes on Jesus
27:00 Asaph looks back: God’s rescue at the Red Sea
28:27 Feeling trapped in sorrow or hopelessness
29:21 A pathway no one knew was there
30:45 Jesus as the road, the way
31:50 Following Jesus does not exempt us from sorrow
32:27 Summary: look around, in, up, and back
33:39 Christians can also look forward
34:43 The future hope of no more tears
35:03 Closing encouragement: look around, in, up, back, and
forward