Friday, July 21, 2017

Not Giving Up...


Did you grow up in a church where you learned Scripture?  Was it part of everything you did?  Did you memorize the books of the Bible and memorize important verses?

I certainly did.  And if you are one of those people you know that Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible and that each one of the verses in it… all 176 of them, has some mention of God’s word in it.   Verses like “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” and “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee”  (can you tell I grew up in a church that used the King James?  :-)

I have been listening to the book of Psalms in “the Message”  In fact I listened to chapters 119 through 150 yesterday on my way to South Carolina.  It was a delightful ride as the way that Eugene Peterson paraphrases things often catches my attention.

Yesterday verse 92 caught my attention.  It says in the Message, “If your revelation had not delighted me so, I would have give up when the hard times came.”

That is so true in my life.   The words of Scripture that are hidden in my heart coming right to the surface when times are difficult and they convince me not to give up.  When I run to God and His word when I’m facing challenges, they get me through.


So if you have had a life where there have not been many hard times, I encourage you to start storing up scripture, delighting in God’s revelation, because when they come, and they will, you’ll have the ingredients that will keep you from giving up.

Delight in God's word.... and when the hard times come, you won't give up!


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