Psalm 119:123

I had an “Aha!” moment in church this morning.  A few days ago I received an email asking for prayer for the family of someone who had been connected with our church and had just died.  The name of this woman was vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place it and I didn’t think about it very much. 

As we started worship this morning our pastor led a prayer for this woman’s family.  While she was not a member of our congregation she had been a regular presence at a weekly Bible study in our building.  Later, during the sermon, he mentioned her one more time, this time including a very small bit of information, which was just enough to trigger my “Aha!’ moment. 

I had met her about 8 years ago.  As I think about it I can member the place and the circumstances of our meeting.  Meeting her was connected to my meeting her brother, which took place at the same time and whom I got to know much better over the next year or so.

All of this came to mind as I was mulling over a verse from Psalms that Robin and I read last night.  Psalm 119:123 says:

“My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.”

In Psalm 119 the Psalmist offers heartfelt thanks and praise to God for the law that God, in His wisdom and grace, has given to His people. While he repeatedly encounters adversity and conflict, the Psalmist always comes back to the truth and security of God’s promises.  God’s law is the unshakeable bedrock of his faith and life.

I barely knew my friend’s sister but I know enough about her life to know that it had its share of adversity.  She lived daily with things that for many of us are unimaginable in their difficulty.  And that is just the small part of her life that I knew about.  I am sure that those who knew her well know both of other areas of struggle as well as the places where she experienced deep joy. 

And now, as I write, she knows the fulfillment of God’s righteous promise, the eternal salvation found only in Christ Jesus.  The longing of the Psalmist, the longing of my own heart, is her present reality. 

In the difficult moments of your life, in the dark places, in the circumstances where all you would really like to do is run for a quiet place of respite, may you find the presence and peace of God.  God, who is already there, and who is holding you with the firm grasp of His promised salvation.  May His promised salvation always be the unshakeable bedrock of your faith and life.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.