Psalm 119:20 Do I have to?
"20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times."
Wow. This verse shames me. I read this and am convicted by all those times when I feel dread at the thought of reading God's Word- not because of what it says, but for the same reasons I feel dread at completing homework assignments. Simply: because it's work. It's not always easy to understand God's Word, and you sometimes have to put in some real effort in crossreferencing verses, checking the Greek source of words, reading commentaries, etc. before you can honestly say that you have some understanding of what the verse truly means. (prayer goes w/o saying) This can sometimes be time consuming and if you're at all human, there are those times when you'd rather be (insert favorite hobby here) than sitting down and scouring pages for answers.
Yet, this verse expresses not just a willingness to study the laws, but a longing for them. It expresses a longing not limited to those Sunday afternoons when you've been especially inspired by that day's sermon, but a longing for God's laws "at all times." For just a moment, sit quietly and imagine what that might look like in your own life: longing for God's law at all times. Did you picture it? What might Monday look like? Tuesday? Wednesday? What things might suddenly take a back seat or monopolize less of your time, in order to make room for more study of God's Word?
I think the next time I feel myself getting that, "Do I have to?" feeling, I'll remember this verse and choose to "long to" instead. Maybe with practice it'll become true "at all times."
After-thought: What if God thought "Do I have to?" when it came to listening to our prayers?
Wow. This verse shames me. I read this and am convicted by all those times when I feel dread at the thought of reading God's Word- not because of what it says, but for the same reasons I feel dread at completing homework assignments. Simply: because it's work. It's not always easy to understand God's Word, and you sometimes have to put in some real effort in crossreferencing verses, checking the Greek source of words, reading commentaries, etc. before you can honestly say that you have some understanding of what the verse truly means. (prayer goes w/o saying) This can sometimes be time consuming and if you're at all human, there are those times when you'd rather be (insert favorite hobby here) than sitting down and scouring pages for answers.
Yet, this verse expresses not just a willingness to study the laws, but a longing for them. It expresses a longing not limited to those Sunday afternoons when you've been especially inspired by that day's sermon, but a longing for God's laws "at all times." For just a moment, sit quietly and imagine what that might look like in your own life: longing for God's law at all times. Did you picture it? What might Monday look like? Tuesday? Wednesday? What things might suddenly take a back seat or monopolize less of your time, in order to make room for more study of God's Word?
I think the next time I feel myself getting that, "Do I have to?" feeling, I'll remember this verse and choose to "long to" instead. Maybe with practice it'll become true "at all times."
After-thought: What if God thought "Do I have to?" when it came to listening to our prayers?
1 Comments:
To be "shamed" isn't even a strong enough word to decribe how convicted I feel as well when I read this scripture. I should all "long" for God's laws and commands and yet I rebel whenever I possibly can. I want to be "righteous" and "holy" but at the same time I want to be lazy and run my life the way I see fit. What a spiritual battle I play. Submit sounds simple enough, yet my stubborn & selfishness can get the best of me. Yet, if I just let go and consumed the things of God, I would be so worried about my social life. This is my personal dilema and something I will continue to work to rectify because without God I have nothing.
JG
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Anonymous, at 8/09/2004 7:34 PM
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