The Fainting Heart

Photo Credit: Peyker

April 22, 2026

Praying Friends,

She was at the end of her rope! Life had reached a boiling point. Her business was thriving, and yet her soul was dry. It was all going out for the needs of others, and nothing was coming in. Then sickness struck.

Months of testing. 

Her husband also got sick and narrowly missed death. It was a season of life she’d rather forget. It wasn’t just the sicknesses; it was that she had poured out her life for God, but felt He had abandoned her. In this place of suffering, she cried out to God and surrendered even her suffering to Him. 

God brought her through the trial, and her faith was strengthened. She learned valuable lessons, and her relationship with God was deepened.

God had not abandoned her, and never would.

Life is difficult, and sometimes it feels as if we are not going to make it. The psalmist felt much the same as he wrote the eight-verse stanza Kaph, which is Psalm 119:81-88 (NIV):

My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, "When will you comfort me?" Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees. How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors? The arrogant dig pits to trap me, contrary to your law. All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause. They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

Notice the language: “My soul faints…my eyes fail…how long must your servant wait…help me…they almost wiped me from the earth.” This is the language of a person whose resources have dried up, someone who has been under intense pressure for a long time and who wonders where God is in it all.

The imagery of verse 83 is poignant and filled with meaning: “Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke.” Wineskins were made from animal hide and sewn together to hold liquids. They were often hung from the ceiling beams inside a home. 

Many homes in ancient Israel did not have chimneys. The fire burned in the middle of the house, and the smoke filled the upper part of the room before slowly escaping through small openings in the roof. So a wineskin hanging in that smoke would become blackened, dried out, shriveled, brittle, and seemingly useless.

It seems that the psalmist is being slowly worn down, dried up on the inside, exhausted from a long season of suffering.

The miracle of the psalm is that the psalmist did not forget the decrees of God. While suffering had depleted him, God’s Word was there to help him through.

Interestingly, a wineskin that is dried up and looks totally ruined can be restored by soaking it in water. This is what the Word of God did for the psalmist and what it can do for you and me.

Suffering is a reality of life. Sometimes it comes from inward exhaustion or conflict, and sometimes it comes from external sources, such as difficult circumstances or unkind people (v85).

Maybe some of you who are reading this article are saying, “That’s me. I feel like a dried-up wineskin. I feel like giving up. I feel like I’m past my breaking point. I can’t go any further.”

If so, what you need is not a theological answer; you need comfort. You need a loving community around you. You need a friend to draw near and support you. You need to experience God’s presence and feel His tender love. You need to be strengthened by the truth that God cares deeply about you and will never leave you.

You need to know that God’s Word will bring satisfaction and hope (v81), and that God’s unfailing love will hold you and keep you right to the end (v88).

As you pray today for our prodigals and for revival, may you feel the strong arms of God’s steadfast love around you.

Warmly in Christ,

Bryan and Rachel