The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Psalms 19:7 NIV
David was a man whose life presents us with daily lessons. God said of him that he was a man after his heart and knew how to catch God's attention. In the event that you are wondering how David did this, take a look at all his psalms, and you will see the definite imprint of God upon his life. From a young age, he found time to seek God in quiet times and places, and I am sure he always got a word from God. How did he write all the songs he did, even to the point of prophesying about the coming Messiah, if he never heard God speak to him? That is my first lesson from today's extract: God is a Father who is interested in his children. He wants to impact their lives, but they have to let him. He wants to share his mind with us, but we must make out time to listen.
God's Word is the Law. Let no man deceive you into thinking that God's Word is just a set of negotiated agreements. No, it is called the Law of the Lord for a reason: it lays out the expectations of God for all who come to him. He does not force anyone to listen to him, but if I will get all that God intends, I have to live in line with his Law. He sets out the law and also supplies the grace I need to keep it. He does not lay a burden on me that I cannot bear, but it is a weight of expectation that demands a particular lifestyle from me, so that he can do the work that he needs done in me. I do have a choice, but think of the alternative: a life of pain, loss and eternal death. Would it be worth it to give up the eternal because of the attraction of the earthly?
Think also of the benefit of the Word of God to the simple. As long as my heart is tender, with no pretensions or hypocrisy, God is able to reach me. As long as I am solely dependent on the grace of God, I can be helped. As long as I am not full of myself, with plenty of room for God to do his work in and on me, I am not beyond God's grace. I can trust God's process to bring me to the place of preparation, purpose and perfection. Those who are proud of who they are or what they have achieved do not really need help. If I will access all of God, I must surrender all of me.
My heart is the place where the battle for control and impact will be fought. Who will win? God, whose Word can change a life and guarantee eternal life, or the world, which can only give you a temporary fix, but cannot guarantee you life beyond this earth. Sin is such a weight; it keeps a man from being able to access all that God offers. By His law, I see life. Refreshing comes from his Word. Victory over sin comes from his Word. Wisdom comes from the Word. If all these come from the Word, how then can I trust anything else to give me that which only the Word of God can give? May my heart receive all that God is, so that His Word can do His work in me, and I can be all that He intends for me. God's time of favour is here.
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