Psalm 119:81-88
CAPH.
81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

We must persevere in our pursuit of God because trouble comes.  It is an inevitable part of life in general, and uniquely trouble will come upon those who believe and follow God’s Word simply because they believe and follow God’s Word.  And our response is critical to those very personal struggles and attacks.  When the moment comes where our faith, our pride, our stuff, or our lives are threatened, will we cling to God’s Word or abandon it?  Will we stick to doing what is right or begin to compromise?

Sometimes the going gets tough and things get overwhelming.  Sometimes it can seem like there is no end to our troubles.  But we can have hope in God’s Word even if it seems like things will never get better, because we can trust that future promise of our complete deliverance from the evil of this world while knowing God will help us in whatever we face right now.  Those moments of intense struggle are no reason to give up on God, but to draw ever nearer to Him, to seek His truth even more, and to spend time with Him.

When we reach that place of a solidified faith in God, we can endure in the face of persecution.  We can bear up under those attacks without retaliation, because we’ll be willing to leave the judgment up to God.  When trials come, we know God will be our source of help, and all we have to do is ask for it.  No matter how bad it got for the psalmist, he would not forsake God’s truth.  No matter what it cost him, no matter what he lost, no matter how it hurt, he was able to keep obeying with God’s help and by His mercy.  And if we are faithful to God, we will see that He is always faithful to us.