Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Psalm 119:49-56

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

  What do you take comfort in?
  There are a lot of comfortable options.  Rachel loves warm & fuzzy socks, and a bowl of warm soup helps as well.  I opt for a nice spot on the couch and a cup of hot tea.  I'd pick a hot tub if I could find one as well, but I don't want to push things. 
  There are also sorts of options for comfort.  Some of it is finding comfort in your place in society.  We get comfortable in our jobs or our neighborhoods.  A temptation is to look down on other people, or even to put them down so that you feel more comfortable.  Sometimes, unfamiliar people show up, and we have to decide whether to welcome them and risk being challenged, or to reject them as a way to pad our own comfort.  Christ makes enemies of the Pharisees when he challenges their places of comfort, because the Pharisees sought comfort at the expense of others.  Christ teaches us that when we place our ultimate trust in God, the comfort we receive there allows us to endure all sorts of worldly discomfort and not be troubled by it.
  The Psalmist is beset by enemies, but he continues to find comfort in God's promises and in God's rules.  He is derided by his foes, but rather than seeking his comfort in his place, he seeks his comfort in God.  Nothing can take this from us, whereas if we define our comfort in something worldly, we'll lose it eventually. 
  Cling first to God.  Seek God first, and everything else follows.  Seek everything else first, and our vision is obscured as to the things that truly matter.

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