Psalm 119:49-56

Psalm 119:49-56
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Being the center of attention can be hard, especially when it's not good attention.  When we're surrounded by our enemies, beset on all sides by opposition, we want to strike out, because it seems so unfair.  We want to make others feel the way we do when we suffer, and the world can often seem like an unfeeling place, where suffering is meted out upon those who do not deserve any more, while some who seem to care little about their fellow humans can get by with little trouble.
  In these times, the promise of God is what keeps us going.  Bitterness and anger can eat away at us -- holding a grudge has been likened to eating rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.  Entrusting ourselves and our fates and our futures to God and relying on his promises, however, allows us to forgive one another, because we aren't called to set things right -- that's in God's hands.  We trust in God, the God who forgives us when we don't deserve it, the same God who forgives others when they seem not to deserve it.  The Romans didn't deserve Jesus' forgiveness when he was hanging on the cross, but he gave it anyway, because Jesus loves without condition or restraint.
  Jesus loves you, and when you are surrounded and beset by affliction, know that God chooses to be for you, and by focusing on the unconditional love of God, you can entrust your enemies to God and know that you are safe in God's hands.  May you find the words to sing to God in the midst of affliction, and may you keep the long view, knowing that eternity with God awaits all who are in Christ Jesus, no matter what.

Psalm 119:41-48

Psalm 119:41-48 
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Note the order here in the beginning -- God's love comes to us, and then we get an answer.  It's like in school -- you study for the test, and then you're ready for it when it comes.  Or maybe at work -- you prepare for the presentation, so that when it comes, you're prepared.  If you go in cold, you're going to struggle.
  So God prepares us for what is to come.  By studying God's Word, we learn to delight in it, because of the riches that are there.  When we study God's Word, we learn how others have endured through tribulation, how they've learned to depend on God and found the light on the other side of the darkness.  By studying God's Word, we learn that it is enough, that God's love conquers death, that peace prevails.  Every time we study God's Word, we draw closer to God, and farther from sin, and we are prepared for what is to come.
  So study God's Word, and you will come to delight in it.  Delight in it, and it will sustain you.  Let is sustain you, and you will discover abundant life in the author who stands behind it

Psalm 119:33-40

Psalm 119:33-40 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  When we talk about faith, we focus a lot on issues of the heart.  In many churches, we can go too far, making faith a purely emotional exercise.  In other churches, we lean too far the other way, making faith an intellectual exercise and forget to bring the emotions into faith. 
  Here in the Psalms, we're called to bring both the heart and brain into our faith.  We ask for understanding, that our minds might be led into obedience and understanding, and we ask that the teachings of faith might lead our hearts, might transform what we look at and how we act.  This mindful obedience leads our lives and teaches us to desire righteousness and a proper life.
  As a church, we need people who are on the emotional side of things, and we need the intellectuals as well -- we balance each other, and the body as a whole is richer for it.  We need to be in the middle, growing in knowledge and finding space for our hearts to be captivated by the love and wonder of God.  We incline our hearts to God, and we grow in understanding, and we learn how to become a whole person in the light of God's wonder and love. 

Psalm 119:25-32

Psalm 119:25-32 
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning only to turn around and crawl right back in?  Sometimes I'll wake up on Wednesday morning and spend the first thirty minutes wishing that it was Friday.  Every once in a while, I'll spend the evening wondering if I should call in sick the next day, even if I don't feel sick.  Am I the only one?
  If we live according to how we feel, we're on a constant roller coaster ride.  We're up one day, down the next, constantly buffeted by the joys and struggles of life.  I've had a number of struggles lately -- and it's all I can do some days to keep my head above water.  At times, my soul melts away for sorrow.  If I judged how I was doing based on how I felt, I'd be pretty down.
  If, however, I look to the constant and steady presence of God, my temptation to be depressed is relieved, for God is a faithful servant to those whom God loves.  God chooses to be for us, and the eternal love and mercy of Almighty God is poured into your life.  No matter what your past and present look like, your future is safe and secure because it is with God.  If you define yourselves and define your feelings based on being judged worthy because you are covered in Christ, then that's a different approach, right?  Things are better, right?  Your eternal future is safe in the hands of God because you have been deemed worthy to stand in eternal light due to the sacrifice of Christ.  That should make you feel great!!!  You've won a lottery that makes two billion dollars look paltry -- you have eternal life in Christ!!!!!  Nothing can ever separate you from God's love!!!!!!
  So cling to God's Word, and let the voice of life lead you forward!