How Not to Stay Lying in the Dust

“I lie in the dust, revive me by your words.” Psalm 119:25

It was two in the morning, and Janet had been tossing and turning all night.  She had tried everything to help her sleep, warm milk, a heating pad, and even some melatonin.  Yet here she was still struggling, with morning just around the corner.  This was the 2nd time this week!  All this worrying and distress about life was only adding to her lack of sleep.  She wondered if this was what it felt like to be depressed?  Her world was indeed spinning out of control. And oh, how she missed time with friends- face to face over a cup of coffee and a bagel.  She was beginning to feel helpless about making a difference in any part of her life and world.  She crawled out of bed and opened her Bible and it fell open to the center.  She had inadvertently turned to the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Janet smiled and thought amusingly, “maybe this will make me sleepy enough to get back to sleep.”  She began to scan the chapter and then her eyes fell to verse 25. “I lie in the dust, revive me by your words.”  That is exactly what Janet needed.  She needed to leave the low place where she had been dwelling and exchange it for new vitality and increased stamina.  She desperately needed revival of her spirit.

For most of us, Janet’s story is fairly easy to identify with.  Especially after having undergone months of social distancing, social unrest, and upheaval in our world.  Many of us need a revival of our weary souls.  A genuine revival like this can only come from God’s word washing over us and through us.  Spending time in the word of God helps us get up out of the dust and points our focus and lives toward Jesus.  Daily, God offers us this kind of refreshment for our weary souls.  And yet, we look for renewal in other places, none of which have a lasting effect.  But here are ancient words that can bring such hope and encouragement, words of truth, and restoration.

Charles Spurgeon said, The Psalmist knew what he needed. “One would have thought that he would have asked for comfort or upraising, but he knew that these would come out of increased life, and therefore he sought that blessing which is the root of the rest. When a person is depressed in spirit, weak, and bent towards the ground, the main thing is to increase his stamina and put more life into him; then his spirit revives.” 

And this is what God’s word does.  It takes a life which is so low it seems to be lying in the dust and raises it to stand erect again, to find a new stamina and renewed spirit.  So, where can we find revival and renewal in this world that constantly drains our vitality?  We can find it in the word of God.  In Deuteronomy 32:47a we read, “For it is not an idle word for you; indeed, it is your life.”