Psalm 116 ♥

          I've been struggling spiritually a lot lately, and I'm not sure why. I'm not even sure how to explain it. All I know is that I haven't had the passion, desire, or inspiration that I one time had. I've felt distant from the Savior, almost as if I've hit a brick wall, a spiritual plateau. My walk with God has grown complacent. God has continued to pour out His blessings on me, and yet I've become stagnant in the praise I offer back to Him. I've felt empty inside, desperately searching for some type of revelation as to why I feel this way. Earnestly, I've been seeking a personal revival. Fervently, I've been praying for God to restore the joy of my salvation. Well, I think my breakthrough came today.

          Sometimes you read a passage of scripture and it speaks to you in such a profound way that there is simply nothing that needs to be added or taken away from it. Well, that's exactly what happened to me tonight when I read this passage, so I felt led to share it...

"I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Please, Lord, save me!" How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me. Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me. He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth! I believed in you, so I said, "I am deeply troubled, Lord." In my anxiety I cried out to you, "These people are all liars!" What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord's name for saving me. I will keep my promises to the Lord in the presence of all his people. The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die. O Lord, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people - in the house of the Lord, in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!"

~ Psalm 116 (NLT)