For His Name's Sake

"For the sake of Thy name, O Lord, revive me.

In Thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble."

~ Psalm 143:11 ~

Oh, the trouble of the soul. I find it so interesting that the Psalmist [David, in this case] is crying out to God to revive him, in the midst of experiencing trouble in his own soul. How often do I find myself in a troubled situation - my soul in distress because of it - and automatically correlate the trouble brewing in my soul, with my own deep need for revival? Not often enough, I'm afraid.

David however knew that when his soul was troubled, his heart was desperate for reviving. And furthermore, David knew that true revival could only be found in God alone.

Revive: A verb meaning to be alive, to live, to keep alive.

In this particular context, the word revive would also mean to give live, live, nourish up, preserve, quicken, recover, repair, restore, be whole. Psalm 143:11 in the NIV says, "For Your Name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life ... "

Spurgeon says it best in The Crossway Classic Commentaries (Psalms, Vol. II): "Jehovah, the Lord and giver of life, is the only one from whom life can come to renew and revive us; hence, the prayer is to him only."

God is the Only One who can give us life. And He is also the Only One who can renew and revive our lives. I love that the word revive in this context can be taken to mean to be made whole. The Creator of the Universe cares enough about you and me, that He desires to take our broken and weary souls and make us whole again. And once you and I wise up to the realization that He truly is the Only One who can perfectly mend our souls back into place (and then some), it will be then that we will experience the fullness of His ability to revive us ... to repair us ... and to make us whole.

And do you know what else I so love about David? He is not in this for himself. He makes it a point to begin his plea by placing His God high above himself on the hierarchy of importance. He says, "For the sake of Thy name, O Lord, revive me" (Psalm 143:11).

Yes, I am sad. Yes, I am weary. Yes, I am offended. Yes, I am persecuted. Yes, I am bitter. Yes, I am wronged. Yes, I am the rightful one. Yes, I am ____.

But, fix this problem, Lord ... For Your glory. Because I bear Your Name. And Your Name ... Is more important than my name, in this game of life.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." Can we even wrap our heads around the fact that we, friends, belong to God? If we have come to know Him through Salvation in His Son Jesus, He has stamped His seal of ownership upon us. And we are His. And We bear His Name.

It is for His Name's sake that our troubled soul will reach out and extend the hand to Revival. It is for His Name's sake, that we be made whole.

Spurgeon goes on to say, "David was heavily afflicted. Not only was there trouble in his soul, but his soul was in trouble; plunged in it as in a sea, shut up in it as in a prison. God could bring him out of it, and especially he could at once lift up his soul or spirit out of the ditch. We may be sure that trouble was soon over when the Lord heard such supplications."

There is no getting around it - Some of us are in a ditch. And we don't want to get out, because we feel we have rightfully "earned" it. Someone threw us in there. Someone provoked us enough until we jumped right in there ourselves. Whatever the case, we're there. And without a perspective change, without a revival of the soul, we will stay there. And we will continue to fluctuate in and out of a cycle of frustration, of misery, of dissatisfaction.

It is time to wise up, just as David did, to the fact that once we are His, our life is not our own. And we bear His hand print, because He has placed His seal upon us. It is time to get things right and allow the Lover of our souls to do some serious replenishing and repairing. Or else, here is the sad truth: We are doomed for despair ... On and off for the rest of our days. Because just like David - Some of us are not just experiencing trouble in the soul, but our very soul is in trouble.

So, what do we learn from this short but packed piece of scripture from God's authoritative Book of Life? We learn that when our souls are in jeopardy - when they are broken and troubled -We must call out to God for a personal revival. And I promise you, sweet sister, He has that in store for your life. He will bring it. And you will walk away changed. Repaired. Replenished. Revived.

Let's take the step and get out of the ditch.

Not just for ourselves, but more importantly ...

For His Name's Sake.