Tag: Psalm 119

Know God, Not Just About Him

Scripture

Psalm 119:52-59 says, “When I think of Your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies.”

The Psalmist is not just watching a child of God from the balcony. He is the child of God. He is the traveler. He is affected. He is comforted. He is not a casual observer.

In his sojourning, the Psalmist is troubled by evil. Life is a “disappointing and unpleasant business” (says J.I. Packer) without the comfort of hope in the Lord. When all seems dark, God’s Word is our refuge and sustainer. God’s Word becomes the song that uplifts the heart and reminds us of Who He is and who we are in Him. We are His children, His saints, His followers. We are different because we know Him personally, not just about Him. We are not “balconeers” looking on, but we are travelers changed by our growing knowledge in Him and before Him.

Indeed, this blessing has fallen to me! What I know about God isn’t paralyzed, it has changed me. I came down from the balcony. I know God. Knowledge of Him has become a matter for my meditation before God. I’m a participant. I’m in the middle of it. I know Him. The Lord is truly my portion. I am transformed and increasingly I want to keep His words. I pray for His favor and grace. I turn toward Him and away from my sinful ways again and again. God is not someone else’s song. He is my song. I turn my feet to His testimonies.

I take comfort! I am a traveler, not a balconeer.

Don’t Touch The Stove

Scripture

God preserves my life when His Word prevents the fingers of my heart from getting burned by the hot stove of adversity and temptation. Think about this – rules created by parents are sometimes for the benefit of the parents, but more often than not, for the benefit of the children. “Don’t interrupt me while I’m on the telephone” is a much lesser guideline than “Don’t touch the stove, it will burn you.” God’s Word tells us what is hot and what not to touch.

Psalm 119:89-94 says, “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve You. If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out Your precepts.”

God is the Perfect Father. God’s Word is like this – it is for the benefit of His children. It is life-breathing and life-preserving rather than life-snuffing. It is designed to benefit us and help us to live under the protection of our Sovereign Father God. When life’s heat comes, I need to know wherein lies my hope. I don’t want to get burned.

If I hear Him correctly, one of the most life-giving precepts we find in God’s Word is the practice of waiting. He is the all-knowing parent who knows what the end result is and how we should get there. If we will only wait for Him. Wait on His answer, wait to see His work, wait in order to experience the refining and deepening of our faith, wait in order to depend on Him more fully.

Micah 7:7 says, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” God will hear me, but do I first hear Him? God’s Word is so available, so near, so accessible. How do I so quickly miss the point of His laws, precepts, counsel?

When we don’t wait, we often touch the scalding stove. We find out, the hard way, why God’s directives were put into place. When we skate on the newly frozen pond, we find out that there are still vulnerable cracks that will cause us to sink. We should have listened. We should have believed. We should not have doubted.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” If I wait like I should, I may not get my heart’s first desire. But I will likely get a new heart’s desire in which I desire God more that my pressing first desire. If I wait, I’m confident that God will transform my heart so it lands in the place He always wanted it to be, with a bigger vision and better heart’s desire – Him.

James 5:7 says, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.” This is how I will withstand the burning heat of the hot stove of life. I will trust Him and wait for Him in all circumstances.