True Poetry

Kaph
My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
    but I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
    I say, “When will you comfort me?”
Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
    I do not forget your decrees.
How long must your servant wait?
    When will you punish my persecutors?
The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
    contrary to your law.
All your commands are trustworthy;
    help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
They almost wiped me from the earth,
    but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your unfailing love preserve my life,
    that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

Psalm 119:81-88

Do you like poetry? If TV killed the radio star, it buried poetry reading. For many of us (myself included) poetry is too slow. Requires too much thought and engagement. It’s not easy. But this is a great loss.
What do you lose? Well, you lose the emotion. You lose the human connection. Consider this line,

Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
    I do not forget your decrees.

Wineskins were made of animal hide. To stay in good condition they needed to be kept moist. But left in the smoke of the tent, they would slowly dry out, crack and become useless. Have you ever felt like a wineskin just slowly being smoked? Drying out. In danger of cracking?

But poetry isn’t just descriptive. It can be instructive. What should you do when you are like a wineskin in the smoke?

Well, for one. Don’t forget God’s decrees. Stress is not an excuse for sin.
But for another. Cry out to God for comfort, put your hope in God’s Word and remember this.

There was someone else who was almost wiped from the earth. Who was more than any other like a wineskin in the smoke. But God raised Him from the dead and His promise for those who trust in Him is to raise and restore them also.

For Today:

• Do you read poetry? Why/why not?
• How are you going at the moment? Are you like a wineskin in the smoke?
• What do you need to do today?

Pray: Praise the Father who knows us and relates to us as humans. Give thanks for Jesus who experienced everything that we do and trusted in God’s decrees. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to bring comfort to you and others through His promises.