many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies. i look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. [psalm 119:157-158]
as we tune our hearts to God’s presence, as we taste and see that the Lord is good, we will lose taste for the things of this world.
our friends will become our persecutors and adversaries. those who we associated with, did life with, and were influenced by, will be the faithless (in some translations) treacherous, and we will look on them with disgust. we will lament and mourn their condition, particularly because at one time–it was our condition.
i just got home from a marriage retreat. oftentimes, taking time to view our failures in marriage can lead to wallowing in shame and inadequacy, but for the christian, we do not have to sit in that disgust. we have victory! we are the redeemed! we have been saved from our treachery, our faithlessness and we rest in Christ, who saves us from our sin and shame, Christ who shields us from our persecutors and our adversaries!
Father,
thank you for lavishing your grace upon us! thank you that when we were faithless, you were faithful. instead of looking upon us with disgust, you made a way for our disgusting sin to be covered by the precious blood of Christ! let us not wallow in our defeat, but be strengthened by your victory!
amen!
~ conor eastman