“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing
can make them stumble.” – Psalm 119:165 NIV
Many of us think the law of God burdens
us that we cannot cope and have no peace.
However, today’s devotional verse reminds us that there is great peace for
those of us who love the law of God, even though we cannot feel it (Matthew 11:28-30). This is because abiding
not only the Spirit of God (John 14:15-27) but the Word of God leads us
to become the righteousness of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 1:17). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) We know that changing our
hearts more purely and holy really matters (Matthew 5:8; 1 Peter 1:14-16) because of 1 Samuel 16:7, which states, “… The LORD does not look at the things
people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at
the heart.” In addition to this, the word of God assures us that we have
been saved through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). This is because all of us
can only be justified through faith in Jesus (Romans 5:1-2), due to the fact that He was
crucified on the cross as an atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15). Thus, we may have
eternal life through Him (John 3:16-18; Romans 8:1-13; John 11:25-26). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Thus, for this reason, Apostle
Paul declares that the word of God is the word of salvation that we cannot live
without (Philippians 1:27-29). In addition, because
of the word of God is so important, Jesus Christ emphasizes,
Therefore everyone
who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise
man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and
the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had
its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does
not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell with a great crash. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Just like what Jesus Christ has said in Matthew 7:24-27, the word of God is like
our foundation on how to live righteously before God. Nevertheless, we first
ought to abide in the Spirit of God before we read and listen to the message of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because the Holy Spirit can change our
hearts and minds in the kingdom perspective (Romans 12:2). Furthermore, the word of God
states, “Christ is the culmination
of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4) The Psalmist knew these very
well so he declares,
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step
with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of
mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his
law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which
yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do
prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Although I know that Christ is the highest law that
nobody can beat or compete with, I have not been spending much time with the
word of God. Therefore, I really need to fix my time-management to get in the
Word and spend some time with God, for He is my priority than anything else. Another
fact of mine is that it is so difficult to choose which verses I should choose
for my devotional topic, that I can spend an hour choosing. Today, for example,
it was hard decision whether I should choose Psalm 119:165 or Galatians 6:10.
This is because they both are so important verses that everybody should
meditate on. Psalm 119:165 talks us about the law of God and Galatians 6:10
declares us about the work of God.
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