Psalm 119:145-152
Psa. 119:145 I cry out with my whole heart;
Hear me, O LORD!
I will keep Your statutes.
Psa. 119:146 I cry out to You;
Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
What does it look like to follow God with your whole heart? The battle has always been for the heart of man.
The enemy is not after your finances, your business, or anything else but your heart. If it is money, he will give it to get to your heart. Your money does not impress him. Your children don’t impress him. He is after your heart because he knows that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he – Prov 23:7. If he has your heart, he has all of you.
If you want to know what is in a man’s heart, give him something. Whether it is money, position, or authority, these things will reveal the real issue. God is also after your heart.
Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted – Luke 4:18-19. He states that out of man’s heart comes all the things that defile a man – Mark 7:21-22. Solomon said that out of the heart of man comes all the issues of life – Prov 4:23.
God wants us to surrender our whole heart and life. It starts with trust. Most people do not trust God. Ask anyone you know, and if they are honest, they will admit that it is a struggle. The reason I believe is that we tie our trust to our experience. If things are good, we trust God. If things get complicated, we question God’s goodness. It is hard to surrender your heart to someone you don’t trust.
Psa. 119:147 I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.
Psa. 119:148 My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.
The proper way to learn to trust God is to know His Word. He reveals His will and His character through His Word. David gives us the key to getting to a place of trust. He spends time meditating on God’s Word. The more we know what His Word says, the better we will be able to discern where God is working in our life.
Joshua is another person that gives us insight into the effect of knowing God’s Word. He says that if you meditate on it, do what it tells you to do, you will succeed and be prosperous.
Josh. 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then, you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Psa. 119:149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;
O LORD, revive me according to Your justice.
Psa. 119:150 They draw near who follow after wickedness;
They are far from Your law.
As always, David’s enemies are somewhere in the background. They come close to him, but their ways are far from what the Word of God demands. So why does darkness feel closer to us? I hear people say: trouble always find me first. Is it just bad luck, or is it natural for some people? There are times when God seems to be just silent. However, the silence does not mean He is not present.
On the contrary, silence from heaven is an invitation to seek Him. When Aninka was small, we used to play hide and seek in the house. Once she finds me, she will go back there every time to see if I am hiding in that same spot. Sometimes I will move to another place really close. She didn’t stop looking. Not finding me in the same place made her look elsewhere. Silence is saying God moved. Look for Him elsewhere. He is still there.
Psalm 103:17 His faithfulness is from everlasting to everlasting. His mercy is from generation to generation – Luk 1:50.
Psa. 119:151 You are near, O LORD,
And all Your commandments are truth.
Psa. 119:152 Concerning Your testimonies,
I have known of old that You have founded them forever.
David says it. YOU ARE NEAR, O LORD. The question begs to be asked. How do I know He is always near? His faithfulness. The one thing you can bed all your money on is that His faithfulness guarantees that He will never leave you or forsake you, or even walk away from you. When Adam sinned in the garden, he hid himself from God. God never left him alone. No, God went looking for him and Eve so that He could restore them. That is His faithfulness. When we are unfaithful, He stays faithful. He can never deny himself.
2Tim. 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself.
