Psalm 119: Daleth

This stanza recognizes that the Word of God gives life, and anything else brings death!  Without it, our spiritual life is nonexistent.  Maybe this is obvious to you, maybe it is not. However, it would be foolish of us to at least not try to understand why and how.  As David says, “my soul clings to dust,” imagine wandering a desert for 40 days without food or water!  Physically, our bodies would completely shut down and shrivel up.  Brain fog would set in and we wouldn’t be able to see or think clearly.  Our organs would begin to sacrifice fluids too try to salvage the whole body but it wouldn’t be of much use.  Eventually, they would begin to shut down, one by one, in order of least importance. Then, our bodies would shut down even further into a type of hibernation, to prevent us from using too much energy until we could be restored.  This is what David is referring to. 

In John 6, Peter and the other disciples recognized as well their need for God’s Word. Jesus (also known as The Word) taught that He is the bread of life and so the one who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will live eternally. People started grumbling because not only was it blasphemous to claim He was the Son of God, but also because He was teaching them something that the Pharisees missed.  God’s statutes aren’t just about being set apart from the world, but also living in abundance! As people walked away from Jesus because they couldn’t accept it, He turned to His closest 12 and challenged them:

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The reason this teaching is so hard to accept is because we have become accustomed to relying on other things to keep us “alive and well.”  Money, food, water, relationships, success, power, and so much more have become our method of surviving and thriving.  Even happiness and contentment are derived from things like possessions, various digital media, and even the plentitude of our own families! How easy would it be to suddenly be told, “none of this really matters”? It reveals our pride, trust in other things we have grown to rely on and exposes our pride.  This is the same as original sin, which called into question God’s ability to provide for us. To rely solely on God would put us in a position of vulnerability. Yet, we don’t like to feel vulnerable. We want to feel safe and secure in all aspects of life. But our soul and spirit depend upon God.  This is why David says, revive me according to your word. If we do not feed and drink on God’s Word regularly, we are dead inside.  

Hubris is the fall of man, because we want to be like God.  We want to be self-sufficient, self-reliable, and self-providing.  Once we come to realize that without Him and His precepts we are nothing, only then are we able to be filled with Him. Jesus exhorted the Pharisees by saying they were like whitewashed tombs: well maintained on the outside and “put together” but filled with rottenness.  David understood this as it isn’t just a Pharisaical condition, but a human one!

When Israel as a nation understood this, they followed God’s Law and prospered.  It wasn’t because they did everything perfectly, but because they were humble and recognized their frailty without God.  As soon as they began to rely on their own strength or “goodness,” things began to fall apart.  It is the same with us!  In 2 Chronicles 7, God has a discussion with Solomon about the same thing.  I suggest you read through it, but in verse 14 is where we get the occasionally quoted verse:

then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Will you dare to humble yourself so you can be healed as well?