כ KAPH.
“My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. My eyes fail, looking for Your promise; I ask, “When will You comfort me?” Though I am like a wineskin dried by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes. How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law. All Your commandments are faithful; I am persecuted without cause—help me! They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts. Revive me according to Your loving devotion, that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth.
ל LAMED.
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures. Your ordinances stand to this day, for all things are servants to You. If Your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me. I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts. The wicked wait to destroy me, but I will ponder Your testimonies. I have seen an end to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit.”
“My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. My eyes fail, looking for Your promise; I ask, “When will You comfort me?” Though I am like a wineskin dried by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes. How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law. All Your commandments are faithful; I am persecuted without cause—help me! They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts. Revive me according to Your loving devotion, that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth.”
What’s wonderful about the psalms is that they don’t sugarcoat anything. Here the psalmist is practically screaming at God, demanding God’s attention. Enemies are devising traps, threatening to wipe him off the face of the earth and the psalmist wants to know when God is going to GIVE HIM RELIEF and DEAL with these villains!!! The psalmist is so depressed that he feels like an old empty wineskin dried by smoke and useless. Despite this persecution, the psalmist is hanging on but he feels as if his grip on the end of his rope is slipping.
“Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures. Your ordinances stand to this day, for all things are servants to You. If Your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me. I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts. The wicked wait to destroy me, but I will ponder Your testimonies. I have seen an end to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit.” Despite all these persecutions, the psalmist is hanging on by persistently studying God’s word. Sometimes there’s little else that any of us can do apart from trusting God and hanging in there.
APPLICATION: Early in 1993 we moved to our little village to begin transforming a small health center into a hospital. Unfortunately, someone who should have introduced me properly to the Regional Director of Health Services and the District Medical Officer failed to do so, leaving me open to those who chose to spread wild rumors about me. Our first year was very difficult and I was hesitant to begin operations due to these rumors; however, once a tribal conflict broke out, our facility became the only option for nearly 100,000 people and we started an operation theater and a laboratory with blood transfusions.
That experience taught me several things: first, that introductions are extremely important and second, present authorities with all the facts and certificates. Later, I had to go to these authorities myself, and even then I should have furnished them with my entire level of training. ( I was already a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons by the time I arrived in the village.) But the most important lesson I gained was that you can outlast any rumor if you just keep breathing oxygen long enough. Once we expanded operations, the nay-sayers crawled back into their dark corners.
Since then, God has allowed me to receive a national award for my work during that time, as well as recognition from other quarters. While awards are wonderful and encouraging, the most important lessons I learned centered around trusting God to handle my reputation and my standing in the community.
Are you feeling lower than a ditch digger’s boots? Think the entire world has turned against you? Feel trapped in a bad situation with no exit? Look through this part of Psalm 119, find a verse that speaks to you, and memorize it! Keep it with you in any fashion you can. While your situation may not change, you will find that spirit of hopelessness and helplessness is gone, replaced by God’s Holy Spirit. And things will get better; just keep breathing oxygen.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are starting this new year with tons of old problems, problems that look even bigger and more formidable now than they did a few months ago. Help all those in that situation to find their strength and rest in You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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