JESUS, THE QUICKENER OF OUR FAITH

Psalms 119:88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

As of verse 81, this psalm follows a litany where the author seems at wit’s end, even dying. To read this as pure poetic language would wrong his intent to describe a condition.

The only way for us to be able to withstand and keep the faith to such an extent of suffering without cursing God (Job 2:9), is to claim on His lovingkindness to grant us more life. Life is hard for many of us. We wish things were different. We yearn that this sickness, which affects our lives in ways we didn’t plan, would just disappear and go away. We wonder why our finances are not steadier, or even more abundant. We complain that we never have the time we want to indulge in a certain hobby or study. We grow in to mid-life and we realize the many mistakes with our children and we blame ourselves for the results. We feel that life passed us denying us the dreams our youth dared to dream; that it’s all here to stay, and there is nothing we can do about it. Thus, we are lead to bitterness, discontentment and subconsciously, to a loss of faith.

I have known many who have let the difficulties of life eat away at their faith in spite of God’s absolute love for them. I notice it because it happened to me. During my regular prayer time one morning in 1992, it dawned on me that I had let a 16 year old battle with asthma slowly but surely rob me of my belief that God loved me as much as anyone else. I realized that the end of that road was in the statement Job’s wife gave to him: Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. This realization led me to a desperate prayer of repentance, examining the motive of my faith in my Lord and King.

The only way to keep safe from this cunning device of the enemy is to, with a sincere and honest heart, ask God to, in his lovingkindness, give us the life and strength without which we are not even able to keep the commandments of His mouth.

Let us not allow the enemy to use the daily disappointments of life to rob us from the faith Jesus has purchased for us at such a high price. Let us hang on to it whether we understand or not, see or not, feel or not, believe or not, receive or not.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;