Today’s reading: Psalm 119:1-85
My selection: Psalm 119:41-42
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.
My reflections: The Psalmist has put all his hope in the Lord. Practically speaking, this means diligent study of God’s Word and daily discipline to obey His commands. For this, he has been taunted by a skeptic who does not believe and sees all this effort as foolish. But it is undeniable: the writer has plainly not been delivered from all his problems. The taunter takes opportunity to heap ridicule upon him for believing in vain.
My challenge: One of the most painful experiences for a Christian is to be in trouble and then to be mocked for having trusted in God. If you are in this situation, do as the Psalmist does here and call upon God to let His steadfast love come to you, bringing salvation according to His promise. Deliverance may not be immediate. Your faith may well be tested, but you will be in company with Job who said, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him…” (Job 13:15).
By the way, it is easier in a time of adversity to prove that faith is real than in a time of prosperity to prove that faith is real. It may not shut up the skeptic, but, I suspect, it will give him pause.
Tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 119:86-176
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