Living His Word

Psalm 118:17 ERV: I will live and not die, and I will tell what the LORD has done.

It could have been that your sickness took a turn for the worse and by all accounts the end was near. It could have been that the natural disaster broke out of control and your life was in danger. It could have been that the accident was more serious than at first thought and the injuries became life-threatening. Or, as was the case for the psalmist in our verse for today, it could have been that some enemies had risen up and jeopardized your life.

Whatever it was, you were quickly ushered to the very brink between life and death. The situation was out of control and what had always been nothing more than an abstraction that seemed to apply to everyone else except for you suddenly turned into a specter of death ready to swallow you whole. In point of fact, you came to the point of resignation and fully expected to pass on to the life hereafter.

But then something wonderful happened. An assurance rose up in your soul. A bit of hope began to lift up your spirit. The LORD was at work within you stirring something. He reminded you of Psalm 118:17 and, like the psalmist, you proclaimed in faith, “I will live and not die.” There was no reason for your hope, there was nothing that supported your faith, but your grasped hold of it anyway and would not let go. The verse became a mantra of confession that you repeated over and over.

And then you began to back away from the brink. The doctors finally found the key procedure that saved your life. At the last minute the rescue team fought through the disaster and lifted you to safety. The paramedics came on the scene and treated your injuries. Or, the reinforcements stormed over the hill and your enemies beat a hasty retreat.

It was true. You will live and not die. What you had confessed in faith became a fact of reality. What some thought was mere hopeless optimism became the key to your victory. It was the LORD. It wasn’t you. It was the LORD all along who inspired your faith and saw you through to the end. He is the one that deserves all of the praise and glory.

And gladly, happily, you will tell everyone what the LORD has done.