August 30, 2007

The first thing I do when I sit down to meet with the Lord is read through a Psalm. Today, I started Psalm 119 which is a very lengthy Psalm that focuses on the many wonderful facets of God’s Word. This Psalm is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I am always so challenged by the Psalmist’s passion to obey God’s commands and refreshed by the reminder that God’s ways are always worth following. This morning I simply “marinated” in the first 8 verses. Here they are:

1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless,

Who walk in the law of the LORD.

2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,

Who seek Him with all their heart.

3 They also do no unrighteousness;

They walk in His ways.

4 You have ordained Your precepts,

That we should keep them diligently.

5 Oh that my ways may be established

To keep Your statutes!

6 Then I shall not be ashamed

When I look upon all Your commandments.

7 I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,

When I learn Your righteous judgments.

8 I shall keep Your statutes;

Do not forsake me utterly!

(NASU)

Out of all of these words, one jumped right off the page into my heart and brought some pretty heavy conviction with it. (Don’t you just love the work of the Holy Spirit in making God’s Word come alive to us? It never ceases to amaze me!) That word is diligently. According to verse 4, God has ordained or established His precepts (orders, commands) that we should keep them diligently. I looked up the definition and here is what I found: “Done or pursued with persevering attention”, and “marked by persevering, painstaking effort.” Synonyms include words like active, careful, attentive, tireless, unrelenting, and constant. God wants us to obey His Word consistently and completely. The question that pierced my heart this morning is this: In what areas of my life do I lack diligence in my pursuit of complete obedience to God’s Word? Some answers that came to mind were my spending habits, setting aside time for Bible study, sharing my faith, and controlling my tongue. I’m sure there are more, but our gracious and patient God knows we can only work on so many things at a time!

Why is it so important that we be diligent, that we pursue the things of God with painstaking effort? A couple of things come to mind. First, we have to keep in mind that our “default mode” is sin. That’s what comes naturally. Until God calls us home, the presence of our sinful nature will remain a painful reality. Add to that the utter godlessness of our culture and you have a recipe for disaster. If we want to live holy lives that honor God, it’s going to take work! We are going to have to be intentional about it. Think of a garden. Sin is like the weeds, holiness like the flowers. You don’t have to fertilize, prune, or water weeds for them to grow. They grow naturally. Beautiful flowers, however, take a lot of effort to cultivate. An amazing garden doesn’t just happen. No, it’s the byproduct of the diligent labor of a gardener. Do you want to live a life of obedience to God’s Word? We will do it diligently, or we won’t do it at all. If we do not make a painstaking effort to “walk in the Spirit” we will most certainly find ways to “carry out the desire of the flesh” (see Gal. 5:16).

The second reason we must be diligent in our pursuit of obedience is found in verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 119: “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart.” This same principle is beautifully depicted in Psalm 1:1, 2: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Simply put, God rewards those who diligently seek Him and obey His Word. Sometimes the reward appears to be delayed. At times I have even questioned whether it would come at all. But God has not failed me yet and I am confident He never will. As Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” God is always true to His Word. We’ve got to believe that. Our faith in God’s promises is what will fuel our diligence.

            So, how about you? In what areas of your life do you lack diligence in your pursuit of complete obedience to God’s Word? Whether it’s one area or fifty, we would all do well to pray as the psalmist prayed: “Oh that my ways may be established to keep your statutes!” We’re in this together, dear sister. Let’s take it one step at a time and keep reminding each other that God is faithful and that this thing we call a “holy life” is worth it!