A Spiritual Problem

Psalm 119:97-100

The psalmist’s lengthy poem about the Word of God holds the keys to regaining enthusiasm. Psalm 119 helps to identify issues that drag us down so we can address them with wisdom from above. After all, a lack of enthusiasm isn’t a problem with emotions; it’s a spiritual problem that can’t be corrected with a pep talk or even a happy experience.

Many well-meaning folks are seeking what I would call a “spiritual high,” which is really nothing more than an emotional distraction from the pain of their aching, monotonous lives. As a result, you will find people driving miles and miles to attend nightly meetings or standing in long lines to experience some high-level delight that will send them back home on the crest of ecstasy. But all this inevitably leads to deeper emotional lows.

If we think of the spirit as needing food, the problem is often malnutrition. God’s Word—His written Truth—provides the Christian with all the nutrients and true enthusiasm he or she can absorb. Coupled with the indwelling Holy Spirit’s motivating power, God’s Word can virtually transform a life. But the effects are not instantaneous. You can’t reverse the effects of physical starvation with just one meal.

Believers need to get back to the basics! If Psalm 119 says anything, it says we must be willing to consume a steady diet of truth from His Book and digest the principles it contains. Pore over it. Pray over it. Read it. Study it. Memorize sections of it. Meditate upon it. Let it saturate your thinking. Use it when problems arise. Filter your decisions through it. Don’t let a day pass without spending time alone with God, listening to the silent voice of His eloquent Word.

All other attempts to gain spiritual growth lead to frustration. I know; I’ve tried many of them. With each one my enthusiasm waned; with God’s Word my enthusiasm grows. Nothing enables us to live beyond the grind of low enthusiasm like a daily application of His Word to our situation—absolutely nothing!

Look at an example. Turn to Psalm 119:97–100. I want to reinforce my point by considering the songwriter’s words regarding the benefits of consistent scriptural input.

O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.

I once came across a powerful quote by Daniel Webster that illustrates what the composer is saying here in verse 97. In the presence of Professor Sanborn of Dartmouth College, Mr. Webster laid his hand on a copy of the Scriptures as he said, “This is the Book. I have read through the entire Bible many times. I now make it a practice to go through it once a year. It is the Book of all others for lawyers as well as divines; and I pity the man who cannot find in it a rich supply of thought, and of rules for his conduct. It fits man for life—it prepares him for death.”1Daniel Webster, quoted in Stephen Abbott Northrop, A Cloud of Witnesses: The Greatest Men in the World for Christ and the Book (Fort Wayne, IN: The Mason Long Publishing Co., 1894), 491.

Don't let a day pass without spending time alone with God, listening to the voice of His eloquent Word.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Living the Psalms: Encouragement for the Daily Grind (Brentwood, Tenn.: Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., 2012). Copyright © 2012 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved. Used by permission.

References
1 Daniel Webster, quoted in Stephen Abbott Northrop, A Cloud of Witnesses: The Greatest Men in the World for Christ and the Book (Fort Wayne, IN: The Mason Long Publishing Co., 1894), 491.
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Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.