Looking for the Gospel. Psalm 119:49-64

So, although I did read yesterday, I never had time to post.  Better than not reading at all!  Today I'll write on two sections, and because my mom pointed out to me how I'm putting myself down a lot in my posts, I'm going to try to focus more on God and what he does than what I should be doing.  That's a little hard with this psalm because it is very law-focused, but there needs to be an even balance.  I'm not going to type out all sixteen verses, just those that I'm really looking at.

Verses 49-50:  "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.  My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."  A friend of mine has been blogging exclusively on hope lately; I'd recommend checking out her blog.  Another two friends are experiencing health issues, and their blogs speak to that as well (Nikki and Karen).  I'm blessed and inspired by all these women.

Anyway, these verses maybe don't have as much meaning for me as for some people.  I'm incredibly blessed, and right now I'm really not suffering much.  A few things have been frustrating to me lately, but mostly they've been taken care of.  Homework will always be there, but it's not very important if I look at life with an eternal mindset.  I was talking with a dear friend about that last week.  Some things that seem like such a big deal are really incredibly insignificant if I am eternally minded.  What's going to really matter in the long run--in eternity?  It's those things, like my faith life, my relationships with God and with other people, and sharing the love of Christ with those around me, that really matter.  That's what I should really focus on.

Back to the psalm. It does focus a lot on what the writer does, and what I should do, but here's what it says about God: God has given me hope (49). God's promise preserves my life (50). God's laws give me comfort (52). God's "decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge" (54). God is my portion (57).  God is gracious to me according to his promise (59). God has filled the earth with his love and he teaches me his decrees (64).

Hope. Promise. Comfort. Portion. Grace. Love. This is what God is. He's all that we need! If God, the Creator of all the universe, the Savior of the world, the Determiner of right and wrong, the Ruler of all creation, loves me, very small, insignificant me, then what else do I need? That gives me purpose for life. That is what I have to live for. That's why I live. This is good news: God loves us. God forgives us. God has given us life and shows us how to live it. Not only that, he's promised us eternal life!

Today, I'm going to look for God in everything. Instead of focusing on what I'm doing wrong, I'm going to focus on his rightness.