We had a wonderful evening yesterday talking with friends about the Lord and His word. Sharing what God has done in our lives is a tremendous way to encourage and strengthen our walk with the Lord. It reminds us of what the Lord has done in the past and encourages those around us to trust and believe God in their present circumstances.
Then this morning here they are, some of my favorite verses in Psalm 119. I am so excited with today’s verses. These verses have been a part of my regular Bible reading for about the past 30 plus years. Well enough – let’s just read…read them out loud!
“Oh, how I love your teachings! I talk about them all the time. 98 Your commands are always with me, and they make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I am wiser than all my teachers, because I study your rules. 100 I understand more than those who are older, because I obey your instructions. 101 I have avoided every path that leads to evil so that I could obey your word. 102 You are my teacher, so I will always do whatever you decide. 103 Your words are so sweet to me, like the taste of honey! 104 I gain understanding from your instructions, so I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.” Psalm 119:97-104
Years ago the Lord put a desire in my heart to share His word. It is my greatest delight. I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was a little girl; I was raised in a Christian home but my relationship with the Lord really didn’t begin to develop until after I graduated high school. In college, I had a true experience that let me know if there was no one else in the world in my corner, Jesus was there. And that was enough! But for the next 10 years I still didn’t grow that much – I was just confident in knowing that God the Father was always there and that Jesus loved me no matter what but I struggled a lot with stress, worry, fear, etc.
Then I started hearing some preachers talk about victorious living as a Christian – really? Victory?? Absolutely! Once I began to study, really study God’s word, I found that His purpose for my life was victory. If I am victorious, being no one special, then my victories can be a testimony to others that God will do the same for them. Dave and I became frustrated with our nominal Christian lives and began to seek God, seeking Him in every area of our lives. We became “whole” Christians – Christians who dare to believe the whole word and applying it to our whole life.
And then, after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the verses in the Bible began to jump off the page and into my heart, not just my head, but my heart. Since it’s the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the Bible, who knows better what it means. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and teach us all things…Teach me Holy Spirit, teach me! I realized I had been spiritually retarded for so long and now I was hungry and growing. It was then I found today’s verses – and they described what was going on in my heart.
Have I been victorious in everything? No. Do I always feel like studying God’s word? No. Do I always come back to it? Yes!!! Where else can I go to find the words of life – no where. Only here in the pages of God’s word!
Jesus was teaching in John 6. He had just fed the 5000 and word was spreading that following Jesus was a good thing. The crowds increased, not because of the teaching but because of the miracles. Jesus told those following Him that He was the bread of life and they must eat of him. They thought he was talking about cannibalism and so they left because this was really offensive. Jesus asked his disciples if they were going to leave too. I love Peter’s answer.
“After Jesus said these things, many of his followers left and stopped following him.67 Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave too?”68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One from God.” John 6:66-69
It’s really the same as what David is saying in today’s verses. “103 Your words are so sweet to me, like the taste of honey! 104 I gain understanding from your instructions, so I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.”
I know where God has brought me from and what He has done in my life and I know that He doesn’t play favorites; so if God opens His word to me, He’ll open it to all. It is my heart’s desire to share God’s word in a simple, easy to understand way so that Christians will grow in their walk and won’t have to live for years in a retarded spiritual state.
Yes, David put the words of my heart down perfectly…“Oh, how I love your teachings! I talk about them all the time.”