Scripture:
Psalm 119:83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
Observation:
In the times of pressure, when the heat is on, the psalmist continues to remember and obey God.
Application:
Following and obeying God is difficult enough in the good times. However, during the times of struggle, the dry times, following God can seem impossible. All believers go through dry times. It’s a combination of the outer environment and the inner man. Sometimes dry times are shaped by a lulling to sleep of the spiritual man, or a difficult and painful situation that drives a “wedge” between us and God. However, we can trust God in the dry times.
A few things…
-Dry times come. Anticipate it. Don’t be caught off guard when following and focusing on Jesus becomes harder.
-I can not control the outside influence, but I can control my disciplines. I am to blame if my disciplines slip. I must not blame everything and everyone else when I get dry. I am responsible to keep going to the well and to trust His Spirit to flood me everyday through the Word and my time in prayer and worship.
-Remembering is essential. When the pressures of the world crowd in, remember Him. For the psalmist, it is the law. For me, it is the gospel. No matter what I face, Jesus rose from the dead, and He is still alive today!
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being my drink in the desert. Thank you for sustaining me in the dry times. Thank you for the gospel!