Bible League: Living His Word My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.— Psalm 119:50 NIV This verse is from Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, the longest list of all the ways the believer can esteem the law of God. In its 176 verses, the psalmist comes up with dozens of synonyms for God's Word. One of the many is "promises." In our passage, the psalmist says that God's promises comfort him in suffering. Are you suffering? Perhaps it is a sickness that's brought you down. Maybe it's a severe financial set-back. Or, maybe unjustified legal actions against you have gained a hearing. There are a thousand different ways you can be brought low and made to suffer. Whatever it is, the point now is not to dwell on how bad you have it. The point is to find out what to do about it. Where do you turn when the bottom has dropped out and you're falling so fast that it takes your breath away? On what do you base your hope when things seem hopeless? On the Word of God and the promises it contains. Sure, there are many earthly things you could hope for in your situation. If you're sick, you could hope for a good doctor to come along. If you're in financial straits, you could hope for a bail-out of some kind. If you're in legal trouble, you could hope for a legal loophole to save you. All these things are possibilities, but the psalmist has something deeper and more important than these in mind. In the final analysis, he derives comfort from the promises of God. Our God shows love to a thousand generations who love Him and follow His commands (Exodus 20:6). Our God inspires courage, because He will be with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9). Our God knows what we need and provides it (Matthew 6:30-34). Our God is a refuge and very present help no matter what goes on around us (Psalm 46). Our God is the great physician of body and soul (Psalm 103:3). And best of all, our God is gracious and merciful, forgiving our sins at the cost of His own Son (Psalm 103:8-14). All the other factors may or may not play a role in your recovery, but the promises we read in the Bible play the most important role in every situation. They are anchors for the soul when all seems lost. They are the comfort and hope of first and last resort. If you believe them, if you place your trust in them, then you've taken the first and most important step to end your suffering. If you're suffering today, then find comfort in the promises of God. They'll literally preserve your life. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingDeuteronomy 14, 15, 16 Deuteronomy 14 -- Eating Only Clean Animals; Tithes NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 15 -- The Seventh Year: Debts to be Cancelled, Servants Freed NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 16 -- The Feasts of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 13:14-37 Mark 13 -- Christ Foretells the Destruction of the Temple and His Return; Day and Hour Unknown NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The LORD is like a father to his children,tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Insight We are fragile, but God's care is eternal. Too often we focus on God as Judge and Lawgiver, ignoring his compassion and concern for us. Challenge When God examines our lives, he remembers our human condition. Our weakness should never be used as a justification for sin. His mercy takes everything into account. God will deal with you compassionately. Trust him. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Romans 7:13 Sin ... exceeding sinful.Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, "Is it not a little one?" Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent." So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced his heart! It made him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful." Daily Light on the Daily Path Numbers 6:24 The LORD bless you, and keep you;Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. Psalm 5:12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield. Psalm 121:3,5,7,8 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. • The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. • The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. • The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. Isaiah 27:3 "I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it every moment. So that no one will damage it, I guard it night and day. John 17:11,12 "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. • "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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