Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 119:153-160
Psalms 119:153-160
Resh
153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. 154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees. 156 Your compassion is great, O LORD; preserve my life according to your laws. 157 Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes. 158 I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word. 159 See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love. 160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
This, the longest Psalm, is about the word of God, about the Psalmist’s love for that word and how he can trust God to keep his word. It deals a lot with the many problems he faced and those who sought to do him harm because he did serve God. If we are not careful, we get engrossed in the problems instead of the blessings and assurances that God will always be with us and protect us.
What a wonderful blessing to know that the God who created the heavens and the earth and all that exists in our physical world is on our side. I saw on the news this week where a billionaire endorsed a specific man for president and a movie star endorsed another. They have these people on their side and can count on them to use their power and their resources to help them overcome the problems they face and to eventually win the election.
We have been endorsed by the reigning King of the universe, the creator and the giver of life. He has promised to put his power behind us and the wealth of the entire universe to help us win that eternal home. What is also really good news is that we all can win! He does not want anyone to lose the battle with Satan. God loves us so much that he allowed his Son to die in our place for our sin.
We say that so often that it may lose the impact of what it means. Jesus loves us so much that he gave up equality with God to become a servant. He even endured the most horrible execution known to mankind – death on a cross. Even more, he became sin for us, knowing that God would turn his back on him as he died guilty of sin – not his own but our sin. That is the love of God.
O God, I thank you for your love. Help me never allow that love to be lost in my mind or to become trivial in my thinking. Give me a loving heart as your love is perfected in me so I can love others with your love. Help me be patient, kind, compassionate, merciful and forgiving toward those around me. Keep me from becoming proud or thinking that I am better than others. I know that I am what I am because of your grace and not my own doing. I pray in Jesus name.
--Robert
