Life in His Promises

Yesterday we started looking at Psalm 119:46 and found the psalmist reminding God of His promises, but as we turn to verse 50 we see that we must find life in God’s promises. “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” God’s promises quicken us…they bring us to life in salvation. We were dead in our sin, but God called out of darkness into His light. If we are saved it is through His Word.

A great visual of this is Lazarus…he was dead, in the grave, with the stone over the tomb. Jesus had them roll away the stone, but he was still dead. He was dead until the word of Jesus came, “Lazarus, come forth.” At that moment he was alive. The same is true of us. We heard the Word preached or taught, we read it as we might have done a thousand times, but suddenly He calls us and what we’ve read and seen and heard before came alive. The Word of God gives us life in salvation, but not just salvation.

The word of God gives us life as we grow in our sanctification. In his affliction God’s promise gave him life. Do you remember what Peter said to Jesus in John 6? Jesus preached a hard message and many in the crowd left Him…Jesus turned and asked the disciples, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

They heard Jesus and knew His words brought life. He said a little earlier, right before the crowd left Him, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” He also said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He also said, “I am the bread of life.” Peter learned the lesson well, he said, “you have the words of life.” Do we know that life?