Discover His heart: He came so that we may live free
Psalm 119! Observations from the longest chapter in the Bible condensed to a short blog? Impossible! This favorite Psalm of mine is also about my favorite subject – the Word of God. If that theme isn’t detected in its reading, then somebody isn’t paying attention. Of the 176 verses in this Psalm, 171 of them refer to none other than the God’s Word, the love of it, the meditation of it, the understanding of it, the challenge of it and so much more.
My mom quoted to me from Psalm 119 regularly when I was young, especially verse 11, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” After the Bibles were removed from China in the last century, mom would remind me that the only scriptures that most Chinese Christians had were verses they had committed to memory and how much they cherished them. I responded by memorizing my Sunday School verses each week because I couldn’t imagine living without God’s Word. She often quoted another classic Psalm 119 verse, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and light for my path.” (105) Even as a little child, I understood that a path could only be followed if it could be seen, and I didn’t want to get lost.
One of my personal favorites is verse 45 because it doesn’t make sense at all in the natural, yet it is so very true: “I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.” It’s difficult to understand how someone can walk in freedom but also walk in obedience to the commandments of God. True freedom is not the ability to do only what we desire to do, something that can change from whim to whim. True freedom is the ability to be what we were created to be.
When we walk in obedience to how the Creator directs our lives through His Word, we are not put in a position of having to live out the consequences of our sins. We are not bound to confusion and indecision because we know how to respond to life through reading His Word. He wrote the playbook, and we are able to fulfill our destiny through our obedience to Him with worry-free living. Freedom!
Jesus confirmed this freedom when He said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:34-36) Free? Indeed!
Moving Forward: I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world the freedom that comes from obedience to God’s commandments in His Word. I’ve hidden them in my heart, and they are a continual light for my path.
Tomorrow @ Proverbs 28-30
Phyllis Benigas 