J.C. Ryle once stated, “The Bible applied to the heart by the Holy Ghost is the chief means by which men are built up and established in the faith, after their conversion. It is able to cleanse them, to sanctify them, to instruct them in righteousness, and to furnish them thoroughly for all good works.”[1] This is the point the Psalmist is trying to help us see today. Everything about God is right, everything He has laid before us is right and we must trust in Him. We should be worn out from trying to follow His ways, His righteousness and trying to help others do the same.
Joshua wrote at the end of his life how none of God’s promises had failed. How God had fulfilled every one of them; not for Joshua’s sake but for God’s sake. So, the whole world would know who God is and what He says He will do, He does it (Joshua 23.14). God loves to fulfill His promises and is more joyous when His servants love seeing His promises fulfilled. It helps us know how faithful and true God really is.
It is because of His promises, His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His righteous Word, we can be strong and faithful during difficult times in our lives. When things come at us, unexpected things; and they will; how do we normally handle them? Calm and cool or in a whirl wind? Do we take it to the Lord in prayer or are we in a panic? Most of us react with the latter more than the first, we should not be surprised; but saddened and realizing how much we need our Lord and Savior’s guidance and direction in our lives. The Psalmist reminds us when we reach these low places in our lives, we cannot, must not forget God’s Holy Word. It must be the first thing on our minds, we must recall what we have learned, what we have memorized, so we can put it out in front of us to light our path and give us hope for the trouble to come (Psalm 23.4; 119.11, 105).
God’s righteousness and His testimonies are everlasting, they are to be trusted just as His Word is to be trusted. If we would delight in His Word, spend more time in His Word, meditate on His Word, we might find the life we are looking for. The life Jesus spoke about, “Life more abundantly” (John 10.10). See, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He came to give us something we could not get on our own, life. His death, burial, and resurrection paved the way for us to have eternal life with Him and the Father in Heaven. This is real life, this is real understanding, this is what the Psalmist means when he says, “and I shall live” (Psalm 119.144). The righteousness of God’s Word gives us everything we need to survive, we just have to open It, take part of It, eat It, digest It, regurgitate It, learn from It, grow from It, allow It to influence our life, and then we will be the person God has called us to be.
Application
It might seem like these commitments are open ended and there is no one to keep you accountable. I want to encourage you to find an accountability partner, someone you can trust to hold you to your commitment. Someone who will walk with you, encourage you, guide you, support you, and remind you when you fall as to why what you are doing is important. You only need one faithful person in this position, so choose wisely, but choose you must for your spiritual health.
Prayer
Dear Father and God, I thank You for Your Son, Who died for my sins. I thank Him for His sacrifice, in taking my place on the cross. Lord I have not allowed Your Word to influence my heart, soul and mind the way that it should so I ask You today to give me the strength to spend more time in Your Word. Lord help me to have the ability to memorize scripture, I know I can remember many other useless facts and information, help me to remember Your amazing Word, so when trouble comes, I may recall It and use It to light my path and guide me to safety. Lord guide me to stay connected to You. To stay connected to the Vine, to abide in You as You have called us to do so. I desire to have a personal relationship with You, but I do not always do the right things to make it work. Lord help me to find the right accountability partner to stay on track with You. Help them to be an encouragement to me as I would be to them. Thank You Lord for all You do for me and through me each and every day, in Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen.
[1] Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 12:2). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Joshua wrote at the end of his life how none of God’s promises had failed. How God had fulfilled every one of them; not for Joshua’s sake but for God’s sake. So, the whole world would know who God is and what He says He will do, He does it (Joshua 23.14). God loves to fulfill His promises and is more joyous when His servants love seeing His promises fulfilled. It helps us know how faithful and true God really is.
It is because of His promises, His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His righteous Word, we can be strong and faithful during difficult times in our lives. When things come at us, unexpected things; and they will; how do we normally handle them? Calm and cool or in a whirl wind? Do we take it to the Lord in prayer or are we in a panic? Most of us react with the latter more than the first, we should not be surprised; but saddened and realizing how much we need our Lord and Savior’s guidance and direction in our lives. The Psalmist reminds us when we reach these low places in our lives, we cannot, must not forget God’s Holy Word. It must be the first thing on our minds, we must recall what we have learned, what we have memorized, so we can put it out in front of us to light our path and give us hope for the trouble to come (Psalm 23.4; 119.11, 105).
God’s righteousness and His testimonies are everlasting, they are to be trusted just as His Word is to be trusted. If we would delight in His Word, spend more time in His Word, meditate on His Word, we might find the life we are looking for. The life Jesus spoke about, “Life more abundantly” (John 10.10). See, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He came to give us something we could not get on our own, life. His death, burial, and resurrection paved the way for us to have eternal life with Him and the Father in Heaven. This is real life, this is real understanding, this is what the Psalmist means when he says, “and I shall live” (Psalm 119.144). The righteousness of God’s Word gives us everything we need to survive, we just have to open It, take part of It, eat It, digest It, regurgitate It, learn from It, grow from It, allow It to influence our life, and then we will be the person God has called us to be.
Application
- Are you allowing God’s righteous Word to influence your heart, soul, and mind? Paul writes in Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12.2, ESV).[2] Make a commitment today to allow God to transform your heart, soul and mind into what He wants for your life.
- When is the last time you memorized scripture? It is never too late to begin. In these Daily Devotionals several verses have been given to commit to memory. Make a commitment today to begin to memorize scripture every day from this day forward.
- How is your life? Does it look like a life connected to the Savior or a life connected to the world? Make a commitment today to get connected to the Savior, by spending time with Him in His Word and in Prayer.
It might seem like these commitments are open ended and there is no one to keep you accountable. I want to encourage you to find an accountability partner, someone you can trust to hold you to your commitment. Someone who will walk with you, encourage you, guide you, support you, and remind you when you fall as to why what you are doing is important. You only need one faithful person in this position, so choose wisely, but choose you must for your spiritual health.
Prayer
Dear Father and God, I thank You for Your Son, Who died for my sins. I thank Him for His sacrifice, in taking my place on the cross. Lord I have not allowed Your Word to influence my heart, soul and mind the way that it should so I ask You today to give me the strength to spend more time in Your Word. Lord help me to have the ability to memorize scripture, I know I can remember many other useless facts and information, help me to remember Your amazing Word, so when trouble comes, I may recall It and use It to light my path and guide me to safety. Lord guide me to stay connected to You. To stay connected to the Vine, to abide in You as You have called us to do so. I desire to have a personal relationship with You, but I do not always do the right things to make it work. Lord help me to find the right accountability partner to stay on track with You. Help them to be an encouragement to me as I would be to them. Thank You Lord for all You do for me and through me each and every day, in Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen.
[1] Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 12:2). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.