Growing up, I was a diehard Colts football fan. As a teenager, I recall watching the conference championship game. The Colts were losing by fifteen points at halftime against a team that they had trouble competing against. What happened in the second half of the championship will be remembered as an amazing comeback. I had longed to see the Colts make it to the Super Bowl, and to see them come back and make it to the big game was wonderful. Yet, to see them when it all did not bring a lasting satisfaction as the next season rolled around. It was through reflection that while the game was one for history, the only thing that can bring lasting wonder is His story, the God of the Bible. Psalm 119:129-136 gives us this impression. The psalmist opens this section speaking of God’s testimonies as wonderful and his commitment to keep them as a result. He continues to press on that God’s Word alone gives the light He needs and the wisdom for direction. The language the author of Psalm 119 uses is because he is someone who has been transformed by a relationship with God. We see this because God has given him an appetite for God’s Word and a desire and longing for God’s commandments. The question we are faced with is if we can say the same. This does not mean we will never struggle or stray. This psalm addresses that. The next verses are framed as a prayer to God. The psalmist pleads for God’s grace to keep Him from stumbling, to be redeemed so he may be respond in faithfulness, and to see the goodness of God in the midst of hardship and a broken world. May we imitate such prayers as we see the wonder that is God’s Word.

Reflection Questions:

1. What is it you hunger and long for? What does that reveal about your relationship with God?
2. How can you pray in a way that mirrors Psalm 119:132-136 this week?