Psalm 119:174 Delight

I long for your salvation, LORD,
 and your law gives me delight.

Psalm 119:174

I continually long for salvation.

I long for your salvation, Lord, when I'm in a rut. The road of life is filled with ruts. When I realize I'm stuck in one, I go back to God's Word, where you save me from my doldrums with a renewed perspective and purpose.

I long for salvation, Lord, when I'm feeling alone. Even surrounded by people, I often feel like no one looks at life the way I do. When I'm having a personal pity party like Elijah, I take time out to listen for the still small voice of God. It's often just a simple phrase, a verse, or a forgotten story from His Word that delights me all over again, and fills me with feelings of love and community.

I long for salvation, Lord, when I feel overwhelmed by the people I encounter on this road we're all traveling. Sometimes they're just too much. Too much rudeness and too many sharp opinions. Too many voices clamoring to be heard, even if all they have to say is memes and snark and flippant remarks. An over-abundance of us vs. them and a drought of empathy and kindness. Your Word, though, keeps me centered in your holiness and lovingkindness. It trains my eyes to see the world the way you see it, filled with people longing for your salvation, just like me.

I long for salvation, Lord, when changes descend on my world too quickly. Nothing stays the same. My comfort zone keeps moving around when I'm not paying attention. My job changes. Or my career of four decades comes to an abrupt end. I'm getting older, and countless physical changes accompany aging. More than once in my life, my circle of friends has dissipated overnight. And then I take a step back and revisit your never-changing but always new Word. I delight in seeing how the old, old story speaks to my new situations in surprising ways.

I long for salvation, Lord, when I've failed you miserably. When my hands are dripping with blood, my heart is hardened with apathy, and my mind has been corrupted by the world, it's then I long for your salvation. I can manage the mess I've made. I can pretend to care again. I can try to hide from the lure of the world. But only you, Lord, can clean my hands and soften my heart and transform my mind. Only you can restore delight to my soul.