Day 20
January 22
Psalm 119:153-160
“Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise! Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules. Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies. I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love. The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Psalm 119:153-160 (ESV)
In verse 154, the psalmist says “give me life,” which is used many times throughout this psalm. It is translated in many different ways, but all share the same meaning:
Give me life.
Preserve my life.
Revive me.
It was one of the hardest days of my life when I found my friend who had suffered a heart attack laid out on his office floor. There was no life left in his body. Life saving efforts began immediately, and he was eventually revived.
This coming back to life was not pretty. In fact they say during the CPR process, the victim will often suffer broken ribs from the pressure. Heart attack victims are literally shocked with electricity in the revival process. It’s an ugly and traumatic process, but it saves lives every day.
Psalm 119 has much to say about how good God’s Word is. And it is. But when we study it and faithfully apply it, it can get ugly. We see where we don’t measure up. We see where we have turned on God. The Word’s revival process will break us and it will shock us, but it will never leave us alone.
This is the year of becoming more Rooted in our faith. I hope you enjoy it, and I believe that you will. But as you cut bad roots, or apply the Word to them, know that it may get ugly. Faith in God is certainly a friendship, but at times it feels like a fight. That’s ok! Keep pressing in and keep obeying!
Pastor Tyler Wolfe
“Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise! Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules. Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies. I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love. The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Psalm 119:153-160 (ESV)
In verse 154, the psalmist says “give me life,” which is used many times throughout this psalm. It is translated in many different ways, but all share the same meaning:
Give me life.
Preserve my life.
Revive me.
It was one of the hardest days of my life when I found my friend who had suffered a heart attack laid out on his office floor. There was no life left in his body. Life saving efforts began immediately, and he was eventually revived.
This coming back to life was not pretty. In fact they say during the CPR process, the victim will often suffer broken ribs from the pressure. Heart attack victims are literally shocked with electricity in the revival process. It’s an ugly and traumatic process, but it saves lives every day.
Psalm 119 has much to say about how good God’s Word is. And it is. But when we study it and faithfully apply it, it can get ugly. We see where we don’t measure up. We see where we have turned on God. The Word’s revival process will break us and it will shock us, but it will never leave us alone.
This is the year of becoming more Rooted in our faith. I hope you enjoy it, and I believe that you will. But as you cut bad roots, or apply the Word to them, know that it may get ugly. Faith in God is certainly a friendship, but at times it feels like a fight. That’s ok! Keep pressing in and keep obeying!
Pastor Tyler Wolfe