My Whole Being Waits

You can listen to Psalm 130 below and read the passage in the New International Version here.

“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.”

— Psalm 130

Hi friends! Thank you so much for joining us here.

We hope these journal starters spark reflection on the Psalms.

If you want to, you can share some of your thoughts in the comments section below. We would love to hear how God is working in your heart.

Journal Starter for Psalm 130

1. In the beginning of Psalm 130, the writer the told us where he was starting from—"the depths," crying out for mercy from God. 

   How are you feeling today? Are you filled with joy, hope, despair, frustration?

   
   Imagine the way you are feeling as a place—like the top of a mountain, a pit, a cozy chair—then use that image to write to God about where YOU are starting in this time with Him.

   In verse 3, there is a hint about why the psalmist was in "the depths." It seems he had sinned. He wrote, "If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,/ LORD, who could stand?"

   Why might you be feeling the way you described earlier? What you are feeling might not be because of sin. Maybe you feel the way you do because of something that happened to you or around you.
   
   How do you normally respond when you are made aware of your sin? How do you know when you have sinned?  "But," the psalmist wrote, "with you there is forgiveness,/ so that we can, with reverence,/ serve you" (verse 4) .

2. You cannot know about sin unless you first know about grace. The gospel affirms our essential goodness (Genesis 1:31) and that is a foundational truth on which statements about our sin and brokenness are built. In light of this, how do you receive God's forgiveness?
   
   When it is it hard for you to accept that He has forgiven you?
   What does God's forgiveness enable you to do?

3. The psalmist said that his entire being waited for the LORD, more than watchmen wait for the morning. He said that he put his hope in God's Word. 

   What or who do you long for? Who or what do you desire most?
   How would you describe your longing for God? What does it look like to wait for the Lord?
   Why can we put our hope in God's Word?

4. By the end of the psalm, the writer is calling on others to put their hope in God! He says that with God there is unfailing love and full redemption. 

   Is the way you are thinking or feeling now different than how you were feeling at the beginning of this time with God? What image or picture would you use to describe how you feel?
   
   What part of who God is do you feel extra thankful for right now? What do you want other people to know about God?