Psalm 119:83 | “I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.”

Using an image every ancient reader would have understood, the psalmist describes his suffering by comparing himself to a wineskin in the smoke. A wineskin was a simple bag made from the skin of an animal to hold wine. When hung near a fire, it would dry out, shrink, and blacken. It became stiff and useless. That is how he feels. His strength is fading. His soul feels worn down and brittle. Matthew Henry observes, “Good men, when they are drooping and melancholy, sometimes think themselves more slighted than really they are.” Weariness clouds judgment, and pain whispers lies. Yet even in this condition, the psalmist clings to what is true. He has not forgotten the Lord. To remember the word is to keep trusting and obeying what God has spoken. Are you feeling dried out or useless today? Follow the psalmist’s example: hold fast to the promises of God. The Lord never wastes the suffering of those who remain faithful to him.