Psalm 119- Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path...

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So about a month ago my father, Dave Trout, challenged me to read Psalm 119 everyday for I think like the next three months. Taking on the challenge primarily because it was my dad who challenged me, I obviously couldn't let him show me up. But with great humbleness I have to say life, gangs, Liberians, and food poisoning did get in the way of me keeping up with my challenge. However, I did find times to read it and all 176 verses challenged me a little bit more. I found myself reading through this chapter and being convicted but yet calmed.

See this summer was long and awesome. But I can tell you there were so many times I was trying so hard to keep my encouragement up in Christ. When you are swarmed with people in poverty stricken areas, with relationships, expectations, and the weights of the world its easy to loose track of who God is and how we should worship Him not on our situation, but because He is. Psalm 119 really takes you on a realization of why it's the longest chapter in the bible and its significance

I have hidden your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11
Shows the importance of memorizing Gods word so that we always have it with us.

I run in the paths of your commands, for you have set my heart free! - Psalm 119:32
Don't you often hear of people that complain of God's word being to restrictive? When in fact that you find yourself falling in love with Christ you realize that His commands are keeping us free from the chains in which bind us in sin. I think of it like when you are driving down a mountainous highway and the barriers on the side are what are keeping you from going off the side of that never ending cliff of doom.

My life clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! - Psalm 119:25

Psalm 119 can make you feel like the third wheel of the date when you come walking into it looking for help in a problem because Psalm 119 is a love poem for the love of the word of God. When I started reading it I was like really dad? Why am I reading this when I just told you everything else going on around me. I honestly didn't see how this could possibly effect me in a way that I could feel comfort. The verse above about clinging to the dust really hit home for me. Referring back to Genesis 3:19 - " Til you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and dust you shall return." That verse really sounds morbid but without Christ we are just dust, but with Christ we are gold. I can only think what this particular "Psalmist" could have been going through. When I'm finding myself clinging to the dust of the world I need to breathe in the life of God. As I continued to read into Psalm 119 I started to see there was a lot of confession and prayer put out in each verse. It was humbling and also convicting. 2 Timothy 3:16 "all scripture is breathed out by God." This being a popular topic around my kitchen table this last summer the realization of the fact that we breathe in that breath of life each time we dive into the word. This may seem like such a simple concept but to me it was eye opening. I often find myself clinging to dust and not breathing in life where it's so easily found at the foot of the cross laid before me in the form of a book.


My eyes fail, looking for your promise, I say, "When will you comfort me?"  Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.- Psalm 119:82,83

This Psalm 119 challenge has brought me to see where I may loose my patience in the heat of the day. It's an example of how we should be yearning for Christ in our lives even when we are no greater than the dust. This Psalm upholds us to a higher level , for we have been called higher.




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