Psalm 130

Today's scripture is Psalm 130. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
² Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
³ If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
⁶ My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
⁷ Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
⁸ And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Verse 1 - No matter how low I am feeling, that's the time I need to cry out to God. I know it's hard to admit we need help, but particularly in those low points I have to admit that I need help and take that step.

Verse 2 - When I call, God will hear me. No matter what my situation, no matter how far away I've fallen from Him, no matter how broken my relationship with Him is, He will listen to me.

Verse 3 - We absolutely must own up to our failures before God. But if God took note of all our failings, no one would be able to continue to stand before Him! He's so merciful. The God of second chances for sure! (The God of thousands of chances for someone like me!)

Verse 4 - There is forgiveness for us when we repent. From that we should really fear and revere God for His power, the mercy and love He has for us, and our hope in Him.

Verses 5-6 - I have to be patient with God's timing often, when I want things done right away and that's not in His plan. But people wait for the "morning" - they know morning will come. The way I see this is kind of like an insomniac. If you've ever not been able to sleep, the night lasts SO LONG. It's that way sometimes when we're waiting to hear from God or waiting on a sign from Him. The only comfort in a time of insomnia is that at some point the morning will come. And that's our comfort when we're waiting for an answer from God as well. We watch for the morning - we watch for an answer. Something to complete our request. A sign from God that He hears us. And sometimes it seems to drag on a lot longer than we want to wait, but I guarantee this - if we would always be willing to wait on God, we would always hear an answer from Him for every decision we're needing to make. We can expect that, just like we expect morning to come when night is over. We should have that confidence in God. Sometimes we have to wait a season for an answer to prayer but it will come. We have to trust in His word.

Verses 7-8 - We must hope in God because He IS mercy and there is redemption in His hands for anyone who will accept it. God will redeem us from our sins, we just have to be willing to turn to Him.

Comments? Thoughts?