When You Can\'t Figure It Out

Psalm 119:145-176

Let?s do a little test. I?m not going to ask you for the results, and there is no wrong answer. But this little quiz might give you little information as to the state of your trust in God.

• What would you do if told that in order to keep your job you had to sign a contract that stated you would never refer to or admit a relationship with Jesus Christ?
• What would you do if all of your finances were going to be taken, unless and until you signed a document renouncing faith in Christ?
• What if a family member was in danger of dying yet could be saved, but only if you gave up Christianity?

Those are pretty extreme examples, but how about these:

• A group of friends are actively making fun of anyone who is a Christian. You know that if you profess faith in Christ you will be ridiculed and expelled from this group that includes some of your closest friends. What do you do?
• You feel strongly that you cannot ?cherry-pick? what you believe out of the Bible but people you consider mentors and influencers are doing just that?what do you do?

You may never be faced with situations like this, but it is helpful to gauge whether there is a line you will not cross for the Lord. It doesn?t mean He stops loving you or you go to hell or anything, but it might help you see places in your life that are holding you back.

The psalmist here in Psalm 119 is faced with a situation where a group of people is making it very hard for him to serve God. They have outright rejected the Lord and His word, and the psalmist faces possible death for his stand. How he responds, and how he reaches out to God can help us when difficult choices face us!

145 ? 152

The psalmist is so worried that he can?t sleep. But instead of letting worry consume him, he let?s prayer consume him. He no longer can hope in anything but God. If God?s boat sinks, then he goes down with it. He pleads with God for deliverance and notes the difference between a threat nearby, and a God nearby. He can see one but not the other yet knows that God?s promises are truer than the threats against him.

In verse 152 he harkens back to his youth when he learned to trust with child-like faith. It is no different now even though he faces a mortal threat. Small kids trust their caregivers implicitly. They don?t have to have it explained to them. How are we in trusting God?

153 ? 160

?See me? the psalmist says. He wants God to attune to him and help him. He?s feeling like serving God is what is causing him to be persecuted and needs God to defend him and keep him alive. He knows that you can?t expect salvation outside of the Lord. And when it comes to eternal deliverance, Jesus said ?I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.? (John 14:6).

Ezra cries out to God saying, basically, that because he has put his loyalty and love on God that he should be saved. You don?t get saved because you know of God but must have a relationship with Him. In the days this psalm was written that assurance was looking forward to the Messiah and foreshadowed by the sacrificial system and the Law of Moses.

Now notice verse 160: ?The entirety of Your word is truth.? Do you believe that? There are a lot of things Jesus says that if you really considered them, you would have a hard time accepting. I think that?s by design actually.

Verse 160 is interesting. The word ?entirety? is a Hebrew word that means: ?to shake? and presumably means to shake the head. It is translated in various ways:

NET: Your instructions are totally reliable;

ESV: The sum of your word is truth,

NKJV: The entirety of Your word is truth

KJV: Thy word is true from the beginning

The question is, do you believe that? Today more and more, people make fun of the Bible as a collection of myths and stories invented by men to keep us in line with some moral code. Is it possible that the Bible is something much more than that? That it is the written speech of God? John begins his gospel: ?In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God ? the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.? Jesus is the spoken Word of God and the Bible is the written speech of God. You cannot choose which parts are true.

161 ? 168

What do you fear? Ridicule? Being made fun of? Being threatened? Ezra was persecuted by people in places of power, yet he didn?t fear them, he only feared God?s Word.

Far from fear, he actually rejoices as one who wins the lottery!

He praises God seven times a day, which signifies completeness. How completely does God Word fill your thought-life?

And again, far from fear, he feels ?abundant peace?. There is just something totally comforting and peace-giving about reading about God?s character and salvation in His Word.

169 ? 176

The psalmist ends by declaring that he is all in for Yahweh. If God doesn?t rescue him then he will not be rescued.

John 6:65 ?He said, ?This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to him by the Father.? From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. 67 Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, ?You don?t want to go away too, do you?? Simon Peter answered, ?Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life.?

He has nowhere else to go, and that?s how God wants it.

He says in verse 173 that he has ?chosen? God?s Word. How is that in your life? When faced with a choice of who to believe, do you choose to believe God?s Word or the word of this age?

Finally, in verse 176m Ezra describes himself as wandering about like ?a lost sheep?. He?s asking God to come and find him and rescue him. That?s utter weakness, utter dependence and utter hope in God, and is the kind of loyalty God designs trials to teach us.

No matter how difficult the trial, do not forget God?s commands!