#DailyDevotion When We Begin To Tire of Doing Good
Psalm 119 121I have done what is just (misphat) and right; don’t leave me to those who oppress me. 122Guarantee Your servant’s welfare don’t let proud people oppress me. 123My eyes are strained as I look for You to save me and for the righteousness You promised (imrah). 124Deal with Your servant according to Your kindness, and teach me Your laws (choq). 125I am Your servant—0 help me understand and know the truths You wrote (edah). 126O LORD, it is time to act — they have violated Your teaching (torah). 127But I love Your commandments (mitsvah) more than gold or even fine gold. 128I agree with all Your regulations (piqqud), and hate all deception.
True to life, when we have done out best to do what is good and right, there are those who oppose us and want to cause us trouble. They will often look to others as the ones that are good and try to cast us as the bad guy. We should not give up doing good but appeal to the LORD to take care of us. The psalmist asks for the LORD to guarantee his welfare and to not let the proud oppress him. We have His promise, “28We know that God works all things out for good for those who love God, who are called according to His plan.”(Rom. 8) I do think we get of waiting to see this at times. Let us not give up in doing good in the meantime.
His and our eyes at times are strained as we look to the LORD to save us from our situation. We tire of fighting against the sin of our own flesh as we wait for the righteousness promised us in Christ Jesus. It is the LORD’s kindness that He continues to teach us His laws. He does not give them to us to oppress us but rather it checks our sinful flesh which rebels against the LORD and keeps us from harming ourselves and others. If we are patient, we will see how our obedience to His words benefits us and does not keep any good thing from us.
Nevertheless, we, now in the present, need the LORD Jesus to understand the truths He has written down for us through the Apostles and prophets. Because of our sinful flesh, we may realize the wisdom or the truth of what He has told us. Therefore we pray His Holy Spirit gives us understanding as we keep what He has told us. We appeal to the LORD’s steadfast love (chesed and agape) in how He deals with us.
It does seem at times we appeal to the LORD as if He didn’t know what was going on. We certainly feel like He doesn’t know what is going on with us. Perhaps He is just waiting for us to ask. He wants us to be participants in His actions against the wicked through our prayers. So he tells the LORD, “Hey, it’s time to act. They’ve violated Your teachings!” So on the one hand we deal with those who are evil towards us with love as Jesus has commanded us. On the other hand, we turn them over to God to deal appropriately with them. Perhaps our love towards them and the LORD’s actions will turn them into our friends.
If we have the Holy Spirit as Jesus has promised, then we will love all that He has instructed us and commanded us. Hopefully, we understand the limitations the LORD has given us, unlike children who always want to know why they can’t do one thing and have to do another thing. We love these commands because we understand they are what is best for us and for our neighbor. Because we at least understand they are what is best for us, they are worth more than gold. Living in the way of the LORD leads to the rewards of eternal righteousness. So we will agree every way of life He has taught us is good and we will hate the deception that God is keeping good things from us. We know He is not. He wants us to get those good things in a manner of keeping with His ways which are best for us and for our neighbor.
Heavenly Father, give us understanding of all Your commandments, all Your instructions, and all Your ways, so we may persevere in doing good and see the results of all Your actions toward us in Your steadfast love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.