Posts Tagged: Psalm 119:176

“When You Feel Lost”

On May 31, 2021 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

            for I do not forget your commandments.” (Psalm 119:176, English Standard Version)

I grew up on a working farm, but we did not have sheep by the time I joined the family. I once asked my dad why we didn’t. His answer was terse: “They can’t take care of themselves.” He went on to explain that he had tried to raise sheep, but neighbors dogs ran them to death—literally.

God’s people are often compared to sheep. This is true of Israel, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Followers of Jesus in the New Testament are also often called sheep. This is not a flattering comparison.

I have been feeling pretty down for the past several days. Sunday morning, my prayer consisted of one remembered verse from the longest chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119. “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

for I do not forget your commandments.”

I looked at the Hebrew for the verse, but I also checked a couple of commentaries to see what those who are wiser than I am might have written. I was tremendously comforted by two very wise and humble students of the Word—Derek Kidner and J.A. Motyer.

Derek Kidner comments, “The note of urgent need on which the psalm ends (lost could be translated ‘perishing’) is proof enough that the love of Scripture, which has motivated the scribes of every age, need not harden into academic pride. This man would have taken his stance not with the self-congratulating Pharisee of the parable, but with the publican who stood afar off, but went home justified.”

J.A. Motyer writes, “[Verses] 175-176 focus on personal needs, the sense of ebbing vitality and the tendency to stray. The clue to vitality and to recovery is the sustaining and unforgotten word.”

“All we, like sheep, have gone astray,” says Isaiah (53:6). Yep, that sounds about right. But to be aware of our lostness and of God’s Word, and to vocalize those awarenesses in prayer—these are perhaps enough. Sometimes, they are all we have.

Oh, I almost forgot. I only quoted the first part of Isaiah 53:6 just now. The whole verse reads as follows:

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.”

The New Testament applies the “him” who carried our iniquity to Jesus. When I feel lost, I need to remember who called himself “the great shepherd,” and who was called “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” I need to remember. I need to remember.

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“Come and Find Me, LORD!”

On December 31, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

            “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

            for I do not forget your commandments.”

(Psalm 119:176 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)

https://accordance.bible/link/read/ESVS#Psa._119:176.

As noted in yesterday’s post, Psalm 119 is filled with love and longing for God’s Word, for God’s commandments, for God’s Law.  The psalmist repeatedly expresses great delight in God’s way as expressed in God’s Word.

The ending of the psalm is, thus, somewhat jarring.  “Come and find me, LORD.  I, your servant, have gone astray.

What!  After all this longing, delight, and love, the psalmist has gone astray?!?

Well, yes, that is the way it is, isn’t it?  No matter how much we delight in God, we are all prone to go astray.  The end is indeed jarring, but it is also real.  We are weak, inconstant creatures.  I have known a few Christians who had been amazingly consistent—until I got better acquainted with them.  Then I discovered that they too were prone to wander.

There is an old hymn that says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”  Yep, that’s the way we are.

But the psalmist wants to be found.  He is still God’s servant, even though he has gone astray like a lost sheep.  He has not forgotten God’s commandments.  He just can’t figure how on earth to keep them.

On the last day of the year, perhaps we all feel somewhat like the psalmist.  “2019 started out with such promise!  How can I feel so far from God at the end of it?”

Fear not!  As Tolkien said, “Not all who wander are lost.”

And furthermore, the birth and life and death of resurrection of Jesus Christ is an expression of just how far God will go in his seeking of us.  Cry out with the psalmist, “Come and find me, LORD!” You don’t have to cry very loud.  God has already heard your whimpering and wimpy heart.

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“Pride, Perfectionism, and Addiction”

On December 27, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I’ve struggled with perfectionism all my life.  And I’ve always known that I am far from perfect. So, because of my (perceived) honesty, I’ve always thought that I at least had a shot at the little known (and less esteemed) virtue that goes by the name “humility.”

Of course, thinking that you are perfect is pride.  But it struck me this morning—in a blinding flash of the obvious—that even wanting to be perfect is pride.  And pride, according to the Bible, is not simply recognizing that we have accomplished something good.  Pride is pretending that our good is a whole lot better than it is.  As such, pride is evil.  So wanting to be perfect is not a workable idea.

Furthermore, at least in my case, want-to-be perfection is one component of my addictive personality.  Desiring a perfection that can never be, creates tremendous soul dissonance.  I cannot tolerate that for long, so I create an escape hatch for my perfectionism.  What would feel good to me?  What would kill the pain, or at least deaden it?

Voila!  Addiction!  An escape from reality that proves to be even worse than the reality itself.

What is the antidote to this unholy trinity of perfectionism, pride, and addiction?  Perhaps facing the reality of my never-going-to-be-enough-ness might help.  At least, I’m never going to be enough if “enough” means being perfect.

I was listening to Psalm 119 on the You Version app this morning.  The psalmist praises God and his Torah for 175 verses.  There are words of mourning, too, and words that encourage himself and his hearers to follow God’s instruction.

But then comes the last verse, verse 176:

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

                        for I do not forget your commandments.”

(Psalm 119:176 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, https://accordance.bible/link/read/ESVS#Psa._119:176.)

Sometimes, that is the best I can do. I’ve wandered away. Come and seek me!  I haven’t entirely forgotten your commandments.

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