Revive Me, O Lord
By Vince Finnegan on April 14, 2023The standard for revitalization is Yahweh’s lovingkindness, and the great news is His lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting. When we are disheartened, Yahweh will revive us because of His lovingkindness if we ask for help and pursue His Word.
In the eastern culture during the time of the writing of the Scriptures, mourners cast dust on their heads and sat in ashes. The psalmist felt that anguish and woe were glued to him because of his powerlessness to rise above his grief. However, he knew where freedom was found and asked Yahweh to revive him according to His Word. Perhaps you too have experienced the heaviness of mourning and the hopelessness of despair. The way out is the same – ask your God and Father for help and plunge yourself into His Word.
Today’s definition for “vanity” is excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements. The biblical meaning is quite different. Solomon used this word in the book of Ecclesiastes for 32 of the 35 occurrences in the Bible. Clearly communicated within Ecclesiastes is that “vanity” means emptiness or uselessness of things. In a world influenced by the prince of the power of the air (Satan), there are endless empty and useless things to grab our attention that quite often lead us away from the love, joy, and peace we experience when focused on our God and our Lord. Again, we are encouraged to ask God for help. Sometimes we just need to be revived, and God is very capable and willing to help. The ESV provides an interesting translation for Psalm 119:37, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”
God works in supernatural ways. Like when a person first accepts the Lordship of Christ, God places His holy spirit within, and life radically changes. In the same way when we sink into a slump, God can intervene and pull us up and out. When sin or neglect of godliness are the cause of our problem, the tendency is to shy away from God out of guilt and shame. We feel like we have to make ourselves right before we can approach God. This thought process does not align with the Scriptures; rather, it is inspired by the evil one who wants us separated from our loving Father. The above verse states the truth succinctly, which is the standard for revival is based upon His lovingkindness, not our works. When we ask for help, He provides, so that we can keep the testimony of His mouth.
We do not need to be made right before we approach God for help; rather, we approach our Father to receive His supernatural intervention to be made right. Neglect of God’s word is often the reason we fall into our slumps. Obviously, then the way back is to re-engage with the Scriptures. The biggest fight we may have when we are struggling is to refocus on the Scriptures; however, with the help of God, we must press on, for salvation is found therein. Throughout Psalms and especially 119, we are instructed to seek and dwell upon the Scriptures for they revitalize the soul. Scripture is God’s communication with us. God speaks to you through the Scriptures!
The King James Version translates this verse as such: “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name”. God has magnified His word above all His name, we too should hold an attitude of extreme high regard and embrace His Word as the words of life. One of my teachers when I first got involved in Christianity would say “Get your head in the book and out of the world”. His encouragement is as true today as it was the first time, I heard it.
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