“I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord! I will keep your statures. I cry out to You; save me, and I will keep Your testimonies” (vs145-146)
We must be saved in order to do what God says do. He says, “Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies”. We must be loosed from our sins before we can serve. We must be free from everything that hinders us before we can honor God.
Nothing is on our own, because salvation, from start to finish, is by grace; it is the gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). We don’t make the first move; He does. We don’t produce any good, unless He does it for us. So, in order to serve Him, we need Him to intervene, because we are weak.
God will hear this cry of the poor, and He’ll bless you with salvation. Ps 149:4, says, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” . He won’t deny anyone crying to Him for obedience.
Secondly, I meditate on God’s word amidst the sleepless nights caused by unbelief and circumstances (vs147-148). The Psalmist says, “I rise before the dawning of the morning. And cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word”. We don’t stay awake forgetting God, worrying about everything, but as we can’t sleep, we go to Him for grace, chew on the gospel, and receive comfort amidst our anxieties.
Recently, I’ve had problems within and without, in the home, in the bank, and on many sides. Like you, I’ve had distresses. But, I don’t stay awake at night murmuring or trying to figure out my own plan, as if God has forsaken me. In the sleepless nights, we chew on the promises. I see that Paul made tents well into his ministry, so it is OK if i must work while I preach the gospel (Acts 18:3; Acts 20:33-34). And, I see that Habakkuk taught us, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation”, so that I’m not forsaken, and I have EVERYTHING, even God my Savior, when everything else appears out of order or disappointing (Hab 3:17-18). It doesn’t matter. I will trust Him who died for me. He’s guaranteed me eternal life, and He’ll provide for me by whatever means He has determined. He is working your pain for good.
We don’t fret as those who have no hope, but having the gospel, we chew on it and believe it, when our eyes are kept open at night. Paul wrote, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13). We’ll believe Christ and encourage ourselves in the Lord. We’ll seek His guidance, and His strength to do His will.
Finally, everything God says is truth (149-152). The Psalmist said, “You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth”.
You may wonder, “I’ve left all to follow Him, denying myself daily. Am I wrong?” But, you are not. You may say, “He commands me to live for Christ, and I’m suffering, neglected, and miserable in my flesh”, but you are not wrong. Following Him is the BEST thing for you, and the only problem is sin, not righteousness. In the Garden, He said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:16-17). Sin makes this world hard, and sin makes it hard on the saints. The commands are righteous and good. Never think the problem is what God has said, as if you need to pull back or do something else.
God only commands what is best for us, and in keeping His commands, there is nothing to regret. You will have God’s salvation as the reward of your obedience, even if you must have pain now. There will be a resurrection for the righteous.
When you find God’s will, do it, for it shall work out that you’ve obeyed.
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