Surrounded by Hope

My soul longs for Your salvation;  
I hope in Your Word.  
My eyes long for Your promise;  
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”  
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,  
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.  
How long must Your servant endure?  
When will You judge those who persecute me?  
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;  
they do not live according to Your law.  
All Your commandments are sure;  
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!  
They have almost made an end of me on earth,  
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.  
In Your steadfast love give me life,  
that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.  

Psalm 119:81-88

“This is too hard! We have to come home!” A missionary in a country where masked gangs roamed neighborhoods called home for rescue after he and his family, coming out of a store, were surrounded by men armed with knives. He gave them all his money, thankful his family had escaped being kidnapped. That same day, he called his ministry leader, pleading to be extracted. But the director refused; it wasn’t possible; they had to stay at least a little longer.

The writer of Psalm 119 seems to have been in a similar situation as he wrote the “Kaph” stanza, calling to God for rescue and justice. Persecutors targeted him, set traps for him, and even threatened his life. He felt, he said, like a “wineskin in the smoke,” his vitality seeming to shrivel as oppressors closed in.

But the Psalmist’s desperate situation did not define or control him. “I hope in Your Word,” he prayed, and “my eyes long for Your promise.” He embraced God’s commandments, which revealed God’s character, and he looked expectantly for fulfillment of God’s promise. He also seemed to understand that his greatest danger was surrender to temptation, to fall into “pits” of pervasive fear or anger, or doubt of God’s presence and love. He could have focused only on himself or relied on his world’s attitudes or comforts.

Our lives are not usually as fraught with danger as that of the Psalmist or the missionary who told the story above, though God’s people in many places face severe suppression and deprivation. But we may at times feel overwhelmed by circumstances. Have you faced a series of fearful medical diagnoses? Has a financial setback come at the same time that family members need more from you? Is a hard relationship at work a constant pressure even as projects get more demanding? Do you feel weakened by some disappointment in your career or a relationship? Perhaps, like the Psalmist, a family member, co-worker, or teacher targets you or your child because of your faith in Christ. 

Life is real and often hard. God cares! But when He doesn’t immediately rescue us from situations that crowd in on us, where do we turn? The Psalmist said, “I hope in Your Word. My eyes long for Your promise…” (Psalm 119:81-82). 

What did he mean? God’s Word is filled with great promises of His presence, His guidance, and His unfailing love. These promises are true! But also, many centuries after the writing of Psalm 119, Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ wrote, “All the promises of God find their Yes in Him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of all God’s promises. He lived God’s commands perfectly. He accomplished His people’s eternal salvation through His death on the cross, suffering not only deadly attacks like the Psalmist but God’s eternal judgment for the sins of His people. Our eternal life was guaranteed by His resurrection. 

What the Psalmist relied on in promise, we know and trust in fulfillment in Jesus. We have life with Him forever and certainty of ultimate justice. Right now, in every circumstance, He is present for comfort, guidance, and help. We, like the Psalmist, know that in His steadfast love is our hope and our life.