Fatigue, lack of vigour, discouragement? In 2019, there were times when I shouted, “Lord, I feel so tired and powerless, I feel my feet falter, help me?The young men are tired and tired, and the exhausted boys fall off. “, but those who wait on the Lord renew their strength, rise with wings like eagles, run and do not tire, walk and do not tire?. The terms presented in this verse: fatigue, fatigue, and tiredness made a lot of sense to me. and a promise of renewal was certainly all I needed.
However, I confess that no matter how much I was convinced of the profound spiritual truth contained in this promise, in many moments it brought me no consolation, I asked the Lord if he could reach me. Could the god pick me up and fly like an eagle?Yes, I knew I could, and frankly, I expected him to do it in an extraordinary way; I wanted to wake up on a beautiful day completely renewed in spirit, vigour, joy and devotion, yet time has shown me that there is nothing extraordinary planned for the next few days, no supernatural manifestation, no spiritual contact that makes me cry. and make me sleep and wake up differently. God simply wanted him to continue to meditate on His Word in a daily, ordinary, and natural way.
- You know.
- Sometimes we put our hopes into God’s spectacular actions when in reality all he expects of us is for us to persevere in obeying him intentionally.
- Continuously and consistently.
- We know what we should do.
- But we try to get away from our spiritual life.
- Responsibility by telling God that we no longer did it because he no longer did it for us.
- We are not very different from this ungrateful servant than instead of doing his duty the least he has to do.
- He tried to evade guilt by accusing his master of being unjust (see Matthew 25:24-30).
Hearing a message that says that everything we need that the Lord has already given us in Jesus Christ and that we must act on this truth is not always as comforting as hearing that God has some kind of experience. Extraordinary force that has not yet revealed to us. Our tendency is to believe and hope that this extraordinary force will come from heaven as we stop, pray less, read the Bible less, waiting for a miracle that will not come.
In times of spiritual discouragement, reading the Word can be a hercical challenge; If the circumstances around us were not enough not to read it, our feelings also tend to prevent any attempt to read the scriptures; however, there is no other means of spirituality. renewal and restoration, except for the good and surgical Word of God, which can sometimes come as a whirlwind to our hearts, but almost always presents itself as small, germinates little by little and bears fruit almost imperceptibly in our lives.
One thing is a fact, there is no way to experience some kind of spiritual renewal without first experiencing true love for the Word of God. During my days of discouragement, God gave me the grace to meditate on Psalm 119. This psalm provokes in me. Opposite reactions: I am deeply ashamed when I read it, because it reveals how weak and superficial my devotion to the Word of God is. It reveals how far I am from loving him in a profound and authentic way, but at the same time it makes me desire nothing less than this model of affection and devotion to God’s truth.
In verse 97, the Psalmist declares his love for the Lord’s law: “How much I love your law!It is my meditation, all day!?, Before this verse I asked myself the following questions: “And I, how much do I love the law of the Lord ??, “How much do I love the law of the Lord?”The Psalmist’s love for the Lord’s law led him to meditate on it all day. It is obvious that when we love something or someone, we spend time knowing it and thinking about it, and the more we know and think about that object, the deeper our appreciation becomes. for nothing that commands us to ponder His Word, it is the way for us to love Him and therefore to God Himself (Jn 14:15).
If we want to know and love God, we must relate to His Word in an authentic way. The biblical account is punctual in showing that every time people have set aside the Lord’s law, their relationship with God has decayed. There is no way to do it, he loves God by neglecting His Word.
Undoubtedly, one of the reasons Psalm 119 annoys me is the fact that it is the description of an intimate relationship with the Word of God, as a reader I feel as if it is invading the corners and cranks of the Psalmist’s soul, cries, Sighs, weeps, and rejoices in the Word of the Lord; his words reveal his intimacy with the Law, he knows its content, but more than that, he has experienced it, he knows its effects, he knows not only what the Law teaches him, but what he produces in his life.
“I will rejoice in your commandments, which I love. By your commandments, which I love, I will raise my hand and meditate on your decrees. ? (v. 47?48) /?Your decrees are the reason for my songs, in the house of my pilgrimage. ? (v. 54) / Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies; because these, I always have them with me; I understand more than all my teachers, because I meditate on your testimonies. I am more careful than the elders, for I keep your commandments; I take my feet away from all the wrong way to keep your word (v. 98?101) That your words are sweet to my palate, more than honey in my mouth. ? (v. 103)? By thy precepts I acquire understanding; therefore, I abhor the wrong way Lamp for my feet is your word and light for my ways?(v. 10 to 105)
The Lord is extremely jealous of His Word, only those who experience and rejoice in the Lord’s Law have the grace to experience their meekness and enjoy their blessings. We can be very good at what we do for God, but when we do not give the Word its proper primacy, we feel the consequences of that abandonment painfully in our flesh.
Neglecting the Word of God is a grave sin, a sin I have committed several times during the year. A little more sleep to compensate for fatigue, a little more social media to compensate for boredom, a little more entertainment to compensate for mental fatigue, a little more of many things that ended up taking a long time and when I saw the surplus at the end of the day, he was just a tired mind unable to consciously feed on the Word.
But it is also possible to read the Bible every day, pray daily, and always have a failed spiritual life, Jesus vehemently rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law throughout his ministry because they were a living reflection of it, meditated and prayed. several times a day, but there was no spiritual life in their hearts, we are not immune to this, we run the risk of losing the brilliance, humility and beauty that Scripture produces in us if we go there simply to fulfill a duty however. bringing our minds and hearts to it.
We must humbly approach, not just to learn more or teach more, but to be molded, humiliated, and transformed. We must find pleasure, comfort and joy in the Word, our reading cannot be morbid. As I read Psalm 119: I see a man who has found a motivation to obey the Lord’s testimonies (v. 129; he discovered that they are wonderful, he discovered that God’s precepts illuminate his heart and give him understanding. He found life.
But, you may be so discouraged that you can’t even open your Bible to meditate, they blame you for negligence, yet, without the strength to change, if this is your case I must give you advice that has helped me a lot: It reduces expectations.
When we are weakened in our physical health, we cannot eat as it should, exercise properly, or concentrate properly, but if we can eat at least a little, move a little and maintain a certain level of concentration, even if it is minimal, we will. We have done enough for our condition It is a fact, but when we think of our spirituality, we do not look at things the same way, but we should. When our spiritual health deteriorates, we must reduce expectations for gradual improvement. our tendency is always to go to extreme, we go from the extreme of negligence to an uncompromising attitude towards ourselves, demanding more than we are able to achieve right now:?If I can’t meditate deeply, I won’t meditate, “If I can’t spend an hour praying, I won’t dare spend only fifteen minutes. As if God were counting our quantities and evaluating our performance as chief for results.
The doctor does not have a clipboard that complicates us to fulfill our daily goal when he knows that our fragile spiritual body does not have the strength to eat beyond a certain degree, not because we do not want to, but only because sometimes we can not even open our mouths.
What little we get is often the necessary measure for that day, and gradually our spiritual vigour is renewed so that we can become stronger and nourished more and better. It is much better to read a small part of the scriptures than not to read. lack of time or difficulty concentrating; praying a little is better than not praying because you don’t have the time or place to do it.
On the other hand, just as a patient knows that he can only eat when he has an appetite, since he needs food to regain appetite and vitality, we cannot be conditioned to read the Bible and pray only when we feel like it (or when the conditions are right) . favorable), it is very likely that the will will will never manifests; the desire to meditate on the Word arises only when we read it, it is a fact that the more you eat, the more you want to eat and, on the other hand, the less you eat, the less you want to eat, only with the spiritual appetite, it only increases when it feeds on the Word of God.
For a long time I was the type of person who barely drank water, throughout my life I have become accustomed to drinking water only when I was (very) thirsty, when my throat was dry, my head was beginning to hurt, typical signs of dehydration. When these signs appeared, I drank water, enough to overcome the discomfort. Not that I didn’t like the water, but I was hoping I wanted to take it. However, for health reasons, I decided to take it. I changed my habits, started walking with a bottle full of water and drinking, thirsty or not, and filling the bottle throughout the day. To my surprise, I realized that the more water I drank, the less water I could run. out of the water, it was as if my thirst had increased due to the increase in water consumption, my body asked for more water, it quickly became a habit and a necessity, besides, I began to notice the benefits of drinking more water. producing in my body, and soon habit and need became a pleasure.
We will only desire the Word of God when we begin to consume more, and when it does, we will realize how vital it is to us; How beneficial, enjoyable and wonderful our being is!Only in this way will we understand what led the Psalmist to compose a hymn of praise so widespread to the Word of God.
Psalm 119 helped me overcome spiritual discouragement because it reminds me every day that only the Word of God can produce in me the strength I need, without it life will fade, affections will become numb and the mind will be emptied of meaning. and it will always be an antidote to discouragement, not as a remedy with immediate effect, but as a daily prevention of our weakness. Just as water not only queers our thirst, but increases it, so is the Word of God, it not only provides it to us, but it generates in us an ever-increasing thirst to know God.
You may have reached the end of 2019 with weak devotion, a dejected spirit, exhausted forces, you may not have fulfilled your vows to God throughout the year that ended, but I would like to encourage you: do not be discouraged, there is still time to drink water, hear the Lord you call:?If anyone’s thirsty, come to me and drink? (Jn 7:37-38) and if there is no thirst, ask for it and it will give it to you, as the canticle based on the Words of the Lord says:
All who are thirsty and weak Come to the source, sink your heart Will pain and sadness be washed away, In the waves of God’s love Deep in our hearts we sing?Come on, Lord Jesus (music from the vineyard)
Give us life, Lord, according to your goodness (Psalm 119,159)