Psalm 119:31
I have stuck unto thy testimonies:
O LORD, put me not to shame.
~ Psalm 119:31
We have seen thus far that the Psalmist’s life has not been smooth and easy. He started this stanza by expressing how his soul cleaved to the dust (Psalm 119:25). He was bowed low with suffering and sorrow. Through all this, he stuck to God’s testimonies.
Our true spiritual condition is often revealed in how we respond to sorrows, how we move when we suffer. Do we move away from God or toward Him in troubling times? We move away from God when we blame and question Him or murmur because of our circumstances. We move toward Him when we humbly submit ourselves and put all our trust in Him (Job 1:20-22).
Those who put their trust in Him will not be put to shame (Psalm 25:2, 20). To be put to shame is to be confounded or disappointed when your hope is exposed as a false hope. Men live their lives trusting in something, whether it’s themselves, the government, the economy, the philosopher, or whether they are trusting God. Those who place their trust anywhere else and do not stick to His Word will have their hope exposed as false and their expectations disappointed (Jeremiah 17:5-8).