"For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes." (Psalm 119:83, ESV)
Have you ever felt dry and worn out by life? Has your energy and passion ever withered so much it is hard to go on? Have the waves of trials beaten repeatedly upon you?
If so, you are in the company of the psalmist. He said, "I have become like a wineskin in the smoke." Dried out. Life gone. Zeal evaporated.
He thought of a wineskin over the fire, pummelled by plumes of smoke. Over time, it withered and lost its elasticity and life. Dried up and useless, that's how he saw himself. Just tired, man.
But amid that feeling, the psalmist said, "Yet I have not forgotten your statutes." God's word was embedded in his heart. Though discouraged and at the end of himself, he clung to God's commands. He would not deviate.
Though he was dried up and dead inside, he knew the only way he'd get back to a revived state was through allegiance to the word. The enemy whispered, You are discouraged and dry; just have a little fun and blow off some steam. You don't need to obey God anymore. It's not working. But the psalmist wouldn't adhere to the wicked one or his own flesh. Instead, he would cling to the word. He would not forget God's statutes.
When life is doing life stuff, and you are discouraged or dry, don't forget the statutes of God. Don't neglect obedience to His word. In those dark moments, the enemy will try to draw you into compromise, but that will only lead you into further dryness. Running from God only solidifies the deadness you feel. It only makes matters worse.
Instead, in the painful moments of life, admit the pain, and tell God you remember His word. Cling to it. Grab others to help you cling to it. And watch new life pour in. Soon, you won't feel like a dried-out wineskin in the smoke, but a fresh wineskin taking in the new wine of Jesus Christ (Mark 2:22).
