Taking Comfort in the Lord
Psalm 119:49-52 Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.
So, life is going along, okay, I guess … with its ups and downs. But something doesn’t feel quite right. You’re not completely happy with the way things are going, and that has a way of grinding away at you, right?
The burdens become heavier the longer you carry them. The spark you once had deep inside, seems to have disappeared. And when you’re in the middle of all that, your perception of who you God is, how He acts and reacts, is incredibly important.
Because it’ll shape your expectation of His involvement in your life at that moment. Is God someone who’s going to graciously step in to comfort you? Or is He distant, uninvolved? What are you expecting of God?
Sadly, too many people don’t have a right expectation, a good expectation, because instead of spending some precious time in God’s Word every day, they’re too busy it would seem.
What we need in those difficult times, is a way back into the comforting arms of God, would you agree? So what is that way back? How do we experience the comfort of God?
I don’t know quite where you’re at in life at the moment, but we all need God’s comfort, God’s Presence from time to time. So … let’s take a look at what God has to say about that way back:
Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD. (Psalm 119:49-52)
Now that all seems a bit strange: “I take comfort when I think of your rules from of old.” Really?! Do you? Rules? What’s the psalmist actually saying to God? And more importantly, what’s God saying to you and me, here, today?
Well back then, they didn’t have the whole Bible. They only had the first five books, the Books of the Law as they were known, the “rules” if you will: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Although they’re much more than just rules! They’re the story of what God’s done, in creation, in leading His people out of slavery and taking them to the Promised Land. They’re the story of God’s love and His faithfulness to those whom He loves.
This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life,
writes the Psalmist.
Where does he get his comfort from? From meditating on God’s Word. From reading God’s promises. From remembering the mighty things that God has already done. From seeing who God is through what He says, and, more importantly, what He does for His people when they’re afflicted.
That’s the way back to God’s comfort.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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