DAY 17.
Psalm 119 vs.121 – 128 come before our gaze today and what a feast we have laid before us to enjoy and to appreciate on our journey today.
We start with a longing for a quieter life that we have had in recent days, the battle has been hard and long as we are confronted by the enemy continually.
We have 'stood firm' against the onslaught of the enemy v 121 but they still linger in the shadows making their presence known.
The plea 'leave me not' is a desperate sigh from a beleaguered soul longing for respite in their battle, maybe they have not been quite as diligent in their walk with the Lord in the past few days basking in the glory of the latest battle won.
The study time has lessoned or the prayer time has not been as vigilant for a few weeks and the sense of Gods close presence has disappeared.
The experience is known by all who seek to walk on the path of righteousness, we can easily take God for granted at our peril.
He brings us to heel and correction just as He did His servant Job, in Job 17 v 3 the weary soul battered by experiences beyond his control has lost touch with base and feels desperately lonely.
The longing for Gods literal presence in eternity fills his soul and mind as his body rots away with the crippling disease that covers him.
Little did the old spiritual warrior know what lay ahead of him in a very short space of time but there were lessons to be learned, we are never to old to learn as Job was to find out in the immediate future.
We can take an immediate lesson from Job in the fact that as long as we look at ourselves we look at problems but when we look up to our Lord and Saviour we can see things in a different light
Eternity becomes real and our hope is quickened by looking up for the solutions of life's problems on earth, our eternal home is waiting for us when our journey on earth is completed.
The word 'surety' v 122 is bound up in the promises of God being the guarantee that what He has promised that He will perform in His appointed time.
So the anchor is the Lord and not our situations, the word 'fail' is to do with our earthly shell wanting something that is in front of us but not yet revealed fully to us.
How easy it is for human nature to want the beautiful future to be realised in the here and now when the battle is at its hottest, to escape the pressures and to be with the Lord is a natural tendency.
The truth v 124 is real, the Living God only deals in 'mercy' with the whole human race and He is continually showing His mercy to His erring children, His mercy like His word endureth forever.
Now we are linking 'mercy' with 'teaching' here and we should ask ourselves the question
'have I been missing lessons recently', that is the base line to start from.
If we are missing the quiet time lessons and communion with our Father and Saviour then we can expect them to bring situations into being that will bring us back to their footstool.
It is in the mercy of the Living god that we can approach the Throne of Grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, He has opened up the way for us to come to seek after the Lord.
In His mercy He accepts repentant sinners to wash them clean through the blood of the Lamb.
Instantly there is true confession there is immediate forgiveness, then there should be total commitment so that we walk in the mercy of God on the right pathway that leads us to the Throne continually.
The right pathway involves spending time alone with God each day seeking to gain knowledge that builds us up spiritually into the person with a Christ like character.
We can overcome the temptations that surround us, we can gain mastery over the world, flesh and devil by keeping that close communion with the Lord.
David recognised this truth and cried out to the Lord to help him understand the words that were given to him and to give the necessary aid to help him live it out.
There is nothing easy about the righteous path that God has laid out in His word, it is tough to stand firm when the flesh is enjoying the pleasures of the world that are a trap set be the enemy.
Satan does not mind us playing around after meetings with banter, jokes and gossip as long as it detracts you from taking in the word that has been given.
Satan is happy for you to read the bible occasionally as long as you do not start to practise it in your daily life so that you become a godly minded person.
Satan does not mind you wearing yourself out chasing around the meeting circuit and the fellowship sessions just as long as he can keep you active and busy tiring yourself out and unable to find time for communion with God.
We are servants of the Living God and as such we are called to be obedient to His word
v 125, to listen and to learn by regular teaching by the Lord to us personally.
It soon becomes apparent to the diligent disciple of Jesus Christ that the church is being led by worn out people who need to stand back and let the Lord do His word His way.
Time for us to show our love to Him, love that has its grounding in Gods love that was demonstrated on Calvary for the world to see and know about.
Gods love that knows no limits but is poured out on His people so that they can reveal it practically to the world and to the fellow saints, love that heals, binds and builds up in Jesus name.
