“I run in the path of Your commands, for you have set my heart free.” -Psalm 119:32

This octave (Daleth) ends on a joyful note. It is a far cry from how the psalmist began, consumed in his sorrow. The difference between an unbeliever and a believer’s grief is hope. Hope in what or whom? The world will look to anything else but the One who created them. Their pleasures are fleeting. Deep-seated joy for a Christian occurs by placing our trust in Jesus Christ. If we know He has saved us then we have experienced His mercy and love. God’s past faithfulness to us helps us trust Him in our pain or when we don’t understand. Only God can set us free from the prisons we put ourselves in. Only He gives us the ability to run after Him to do what we were created to do all along. Running after anything less than your Maker is like living in chains. 

Life in Christ is essential to being fully human. God loves to bless His children with understanding in His ways so that we may walk in them. God blesses us with a love for holiness, a desire to persevere even when we are weary or sorrowful. Our Good God will be with us and help us to the very end (Philippians 1:6). What a wonderful work of grace!

Grace upon grace,

April