Psalm 119:107
I’m weakened by so much trouble,
Bring me back to life according to your Word.
The Message manages a rather good translation of this verse, I think, expressing the feeling of the poetry well.
Everything’s falling apart on me, GOD;
Psalm 119:107 (MSG)
put me together again with your Word.
As I write this I feel the pressure of just keeping up. I am trying to keep a business going while being a caregiver for two people. In fact, “the pressure of keeping up” implies that I’m doing better than I am. I’m not keeping up. People who have expectations are very nice to me, and I’m grateful for that, but the feeling of not accomplishing what I think I should, what I expected to accomplish weighs on me.
I don’t write this as a complaint. I complain to the Lord, as did the psalmist. I tell the Lord what’s wrong. Here I am, despite everything. In fact, objectively I can look at things that have improved. Objectively, I can compare my situation to others, and I know that there are those who have greater difficulties than I do. I pray that God will guide them.
I feel every word of this verse. I use the word “weakened,” which is not used by most translations. It’s an option available as a translation of the word used here, often translated “afflicted.”
What is one to do when faced with a situation in which one feels too weak to deal with things that are necessary?
The answer comes in the second half of the verse. The one who created you is also the one who sustains you. That’s the only ultimate answer. There are many things that are done within that. I can never accept that it is right to skip one single thing that I actually can do. I don’t say, “Look, God, I quit. You do it.”
But there’s the other side of that, and that is to recognize the point at which I have done what I can and have come to the point where I must stop and take time to rest and be restored.
Pray today with me that God will identify clearly the stuff to do, but also, critically, the stuff not to do.
