So....Psalm 119 is very long. I split this devotional into two for this reason. I definitely felt it warranted two days worth of study. Oh and....its a SNOW DAY!
Psalm 119:88
According to Your steadfast love give life to me; then I will keep the testimony of Your mouth
I stick on steadfast. His love is steadfast towards me. Unwavering. Unmoved and Unmovable. Nothing I do or say can change His love towards me. That's so liberating to my soul. I have no need to try to be perfect because He not only knows me but loves me anyway. This doesn't absolve me of repenting and being upright and set apart but it does free me from the letter of the law. And you know what? Knowing He loves me anyway makes me want a closer walk. It makes me want to exalt His name and worship in spirit and in truth. I'm drawn closer to the Lord just by reading and writing about Him. The writing forces me to actually consider the nature and character of the God I serve and tells me more and more about who I am: created in His image and worthy of the death of Christ for relationship. Yea....I'm going to talk about God.
Psalm 119:103
How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I love sweets. I love the way they look, the way they taste, the way they make me feel. I love candy, cakes, cookies, and pies. I love all the sugar and I can bake most of it. Now obviously this isn't always good for me but nevertheless I've got a ravenous sweet tooth. You know what is even more voracious than my sweet tooth? My desire to hear from the Lord. I love hearing what God has to say to me. Now it isn't always what I want to hear. I'm not waiting to hear from Him because He's like Santa: giving me what I want when I want it. Often it isn't even something I'm asking about half the time. But its exactly what I need. Sometimes it happens in my spirit and sometimes its right there in the Bible, but He's always got something to say. Lord incline my ear, that I might do your will.
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
When I'm unsure, He's Google maps. Now I know that's a funny idea but He is. Now He's not exactly like the app though. God isn't usually giving me the whole trip. Often times God is giving me something and asking me to walk that out until He gives me something else. So I get like "Get on this highway and go until I say otherwise." What I love about that is often times that's all I can handle. However, on rare occasions, He's let me know something like "Destination: Calcutta" so far in advance that I'm like "I didn't even want to go to Calcutta....like ummm what?" and He's oh so patient with me. I'm the kind of person that needs 5 confirmations of something before I move, especially if its something I wasn't even considering and He's faithful in that too. One thing I love about that though is that even when I know He wants me to go to India, He still helps me walk out what that means each and every day with each and ever step.... on my way to India.
Psalm 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word
He's the safest place I've ever been. He's never let me down and He's never left me. I'm big on security and the thing I know that I know that I knew that I'll know tomorrow about God is He's always there. I'm so grateful for that kind of security and I'm so humbled that He cares so much about my fragile heart as to always make sure I feel protected. Even when His protection felt like He was forsaking me, He's always illuminated His actions afterwards just enough for me to be like "Oh that was you keeping me" and every time I've been so awestruck by Him. God is exactly who He says He is in His word. I can place all my hope in Him and I can wholly rely on Him because He's the same God that kept the lions at bay, parted the Red Sea, sent manna from Heaven, delivered on a 45 year old promise to Caleb, and sent His son to die for this relationship. How could I not hope in Him?
Psalm 119:125
I am Your servant; give me understanding (discernment and comprehension), that I may know (discern and be familiar with the character of) Your testimonies.
I'm humbled to even be considered a servant of God. That He'd want me as a servant and much less as a child is baffling. I'm constantly on my knees praying for God to show me things. I don't actually say the word "discernment" in my prayers but "God show me what you think" falls from my lips time and time again. And you know what? When things He's revealed come to pass, I see exactly what He's done and I know its Him. Seeing something awesome and thinking "That's God" rather than "They're so lucky" is a leap. Its not a huge one but its definitely one that honors God. God does things all the time to show His faithfulness, loving kindness, and mercy and I know I need to continue to be careful to see Him in everything. Its always God. I think its so good to familiarize myself with His past faithfulness because God is. He always was and its going to be Him. Seek Him.
Psalm 119:132
Look upon me, be merciful unto me, and show me favor, as is Your way to those who love Your name.
I truly do love the Lord. I love Him in the core of my being. And you know what? I'm so glad it matters to God that I love Him. God is so big. He could choose not to be bothered with little me but He has numbered the hairs on my head. That's how much He loves and considers me. And favor? My life is literal favor. God has been so merciful to me. When I think about all the times I was texting and driving and still managed not to hit anyone? Favor. All the times I was barely awake but my data was still good? Favor. All the times my clumsy self has fallen down the steps and never once have I hurt myself? Favor. When I was completely lost in my own grief but I never actually endangered my life? Favor. God has been watching me all this time and all this time He's been so gracious to me, especially in my foolishness. He's faithful even when I'm not but what I know I've always been is a lover of the Lord.
Psalm 119: 154
Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me and give me life according to Your word.
God gives life and not just life but life more abundantly. When I was finally ready to accept the purpose God has called me to in medicine, so much of my life opened. When I was finally ready to stop pretending I didn't know exactly where I was supposed to be, so much changed. My relationship with my parents changed, my relationship with my friends changed, and most importantly my relationship with myself changed. I'd always been one to be like "I'm ready to go to glory now and worship the Lord forever" but now I feel like I have so much to do down here on earth that I'm more like "Its going to be awesome, but I've got to get this work you've put on my heart done first God." That's a radical shift. For me, its using life the way it was intended to be used.
Psalm 119:162
I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.
The word is a great treasure. It tells me who my God is. Even though I've always known there was something bigger than me, learning the nature of God through His word has brought me so far on my journey of faith. I'm so grateful for the decision I made many weeks ago to read Psalms because its illuminated so much in my life in regards to my prayer life, His answers and His faithfulness. God had been so good to those He's called and those who committed to loving and serving Him throughout the word that I know I'm in great company and under the care of the only one capable. God's word can also be likened to a treasure map. A few days ago He dropped a passage from Isaiah in my spirit about God cleansing the land and bringing His glory to rest there then something from Psalms spoke to me in the same vein about what happens after the glory rests there from my daily reading. I had no reason to be in Isaiah. None. That's the God I serve. That's what's in the Bible He inspired. Don't quench the spirit but be led of it and you'll find things you weren't even looking for!
Psalm 120:1
In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.
Oh how many nights have I cried out to Him? How many times have I desperately clutched my Bible while I cried myself to sleep? They're innumerable. How many times has He been faithful? Many more times than I've prayed about. Even just the other day, He whispered to my spirit "Get on your knees" and in my obedience He gave me peace. Sometimes I think I'm praying for one thing and honestly, just the communion with Him is what I need. The purpose of that time isn't always the prayer. Yes, the prayer is important, but the time I spend with Him soothes my soul. By the time I got off my knees, my eyes were tired and swollen but my soul was a tranquil as pond in the middle of a forest. The Lord quiets my spirit and brings me rest.
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