“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your Word.” Psalm 119:114

No Words

I have no words for how my heart has ached lately. I stare at the keyboard, searching for something of meaning to put into writing to comfort or cheer others. Nothing. While doing this one more time today I heard a whisper: “You may not have words of comfort or cheer, but I do….”

So off to blueletterbible.org I went with a search of “Your Word.” This phrase occurs 55 times in the NKJV—thirty-five of them are in Psalm 119. As I read through them, these are the ones that particularly spoke to my heart. I pray they speak to your heart as well.

  •       “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your Word” (vs. 25).
  •      “My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your Word” (vs. 28).
  •      “I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your Word” (vs. 58).
  •      “Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your Word to Your servant” (vs. 76).
  •      “Forever, O LORD, Your Word is settled in heaven” (vs. 89).
  •      “YourWordis a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (vs. 105).
  •      “Your Word is very pure, therefore Your servant loves it” (vs. 140).
  •      “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your Word” (vs. 147).
  •      “My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I might meditate on Your Word” (vs. 148).
  •      “The entirety of Your Word is truth and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (vs. 160).
  •      “I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure” (vs. 162).
  •      “Let my cry come before You, O LORD; give me understanding according to Your Word” (vs. 169).

God knew there would be seasons where we have no words to express the pain in our hearts so He gave us His words…words which never change and yet are living and speak to us in different ways in various times of life. He knew there would be times when we would have no words to even pray to Him and so He encourages us with these words: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaningswhich cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

In times like these, when often the only words that come out of my mouth are not edifying or encouraging, I pray as in Psalm 19:14: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

“Father God, thank You that when we have no words, Your Word is more than sufficient. May we diligently seek and find Your comfort in its pages. Amen.”