The Psalms have ministered to my soul and filled my heart with gladness time after time. How blessed is the man or woman that knows God through the Lord Jesus Christ! He is larger than my pain, larger than my sins, and larger than any temporal happiness on this earth. He is everything. The devotion today is based on Psalm 119: 81-88, with an emphasis on verses 87-88.
God Is Larger Than My Pain
When life on earth is fraught
With pain and anguish
With darts undeserved
With arrows that have buried deep within my soul,
I look to you oh God, my Savior.
I cry,
I do not understand.
I ask you to help me to love,
To forgive;
Yet,
Those who are supposed to love me
Never say they're sorry.
And, I wonder if I will see them when I leave this earth
Will they want to be forgiven then?
Will some of them be in heaven and others not?
I only know of one who ever took the time to say it was wrong
To spoil the song with lies.
My heart fills when I know how this woman cares,
In obedience, she loves God enough
To go to her sister and brothers
To mend what has been broken.
God makes her strong.
Life's stresses and strains.
Pounding the body and soul of God's child,
Sometimes feels like an ocean's undertow,
That threatens to drown.
Yet,
There is hope for me the sinner, saved by grace.
Though I am weak, He is strong.
He carries me along,
Until the song can be sung
Loudly in glorious praise.
My God, my Jesus has not forsaken me,
Nor, I Him.
His precepts live within.
He will not let me fall.
He holds me,
And waits for me to reach,
To trust,
To be ready to step out again,
Even when,
I am afraid, my Lord is here
with me.
© D. Bolton 2013
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and for Your mercy. Thank You for loving me so much, that You sent Jesus to be my Savior. As a sinner saved by Your grace, I often wonder how I could not spend more time with the One, who is everything, who will never let me down, who will always love me. And then, tonight I read the words of David: They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts (KJV, Psalm 119:87). *The word "forsake"
took on new meaning for me, as I knew in my spirit, that though I may fail and become weak -- it does not mean I have forsaken your precepts. Help me to do the thing that has been hard for me because of the associations it brings back to my body, mind, and emotions. This is different for each person, Lord. You know mine. I am trusting and thanking You for Your answer.
In Jesus' Holy Name I Pray,
Amen.
*Note: To forsake something means to leave it forever. King David in the Old Testament sinned, as we all do. He also suffered unjustly in his life; yet, the true desire of his heart was to follow God's precepts. That is what I see: it is the true heart, the one given you by God that counts. I would never have seen this if I had not been feeling badly for not spending more time in God's word. The Holy Spirit within me motivated me to put down my other pursuits that were not bad in themselves, but I had let myself stray by not putting aside time to study the Bible. I am so glad I listened. God filled me with His joy.
