"How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I'm single-minded in pursuit of you; don't let me miss the road signs you've posted. I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I'll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you've done it. I relish everything you've told me of life, I won't forget a word of it." (Psalms 119:9-16 - from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Here's a prescription for living a clean life. Thank you, Father for helping me to better understand how best to live my life! Taking these verses a bit at a time, my first question to myself is: "Am I single minded in my pursuit of God?" I remember Jesus agreed that THESE were God's commandments:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:25-28 NIV)
Do I love God with ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my strength, ALL my mind? Easy to say - not so easy to do. I need to be single minded in my pursuit of God! If all my heart, soul, strength, and mind is tied up in that pursuit, there's no room for anything else.
What about missing those road signs? I'm sure many of us have had the experience of driving down the road chatting with a friend only to realize we just passed the turn we intended to take. Why did it happen? We were NOT single minded. Our attention was not on our driving! How much more important to make sure I don't miss God's signposts on the highway of life!
I love the imagery of storing the promises in the vault of my heart! As I move through life, it can be so encouraging as I see God's promises to me. I like the idea of storing these up for when they might be needed later. And when I face challenges that require more than my normal daily resources, these stored up promises can support me through them - just like an emergency fund in a bank.
And what about retention? Can I say in confidence about all that God has told me, "I won't forget a word of it"? Wow! My memory is NOT what it used to be and I can get so frustrated at times at how easily I forget things. But hidden here in these verses are part of the cure for this. I need to TALK ABOUT the guidance God has given me - "transfer it to my lips". I need to keep my priorities straight - keeping what God has to tell me about living at the top of the list - way above gaining riches! I need to PONDER every morsel of God's wisdom. I need to ATTENTIVELY WATCH how God does things. I need to RELISH everything He's told me. Doing these things are what help me remember. If I spend enough time talking about something, I WILL remember. If I spend enough time thinking about something, pondering it, I WILL remember. If I pay attention and really focus, I WILL remember. If I really relish something I WILL remember.
Father, thank you for your guidance. I take these words to heart and store them as promises that if I am willing to talk about, ponder, pay attention, and relish your guidance, I WILL remember. Thank you, Father! I want you to be the "Lord of all the kingdoms of my heart", Father! May your will be done in my life today. May I single-mindedly love you with ALL my heart, soul, strength, and mind! Thank you, Father!
No comments:
Post a Comment
This blog is simply a sharing of my "daily bread" - my daily walk with God. If something I've said has touched your heart, or sparked a new thought, I'd love to hear from you.