Psalm 74 // Where is God?

“I created this piece to represent Psalm 74. It visually captures the despair and cry for help voiced by the psalmist on behalf of the people of God, shown through the person lifting up their hands to the heavens.

The imagery reflects Asaph’s claim that God has cast his people off (v.1), allowing their enemies to destroy not only their land but even the temple—the center of their worship (vv.4–8).
The scene I created shows a place abandoned, leaderless (v.9), surrounded by darkness, and nearly devoid of hope.

However, woven through the devastation in the psalm is a powerful, persistent plea for God to remember His people (vv.2, 18, 20, 22, 23). I displayed this tension by painting broken structures in the foreground in dark, oppressive tones. But in the background, I added faint streams of light breaking through the darkness, symbolizing the psalmist’s enduring faith in a God who hears, remembers, and redeems. It is a haunting yet hopeful reflection on suffering, faith, and the possibility of divine rescue in the darkest of times.”

—Jasmine Neemann, artist