Don’t Forget
“I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.”
Today’s Text: Psalm 119:169-176 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
This will be my last blog posting for a little while. I don’t normally post on the weekend, but I wanted to finish Psalm 119.
After 175 verses of extoling the word of God, the final verse of Psalm 119 summarizes the life of every disciple of Jesus Christ. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
It is truly difficult to fully grasp the Bible’s teaching about our sin nature. And that is because what it ultimately tells us is that we must not fully trust our own motivations about anything we say or do. And we need to let that reality just sink deeply into our hearts.
…
Sooner or later, and usually at critical moments in our lives, we will go astray, and rather than turning to the word of God for the next thing we say or do, we will turn to our own way. And our own way is usually, if not always, the way of the world—the way that all of our senses and the rest of humanity have conditioned us to follow since the day we were born.
We’re not always like that, but like I said, we tend to turn to our own way at critical moments.
There was one specific time when my wife and I were arguing about something (I can’t even remember about what), and our “discussion” had devolved into insulting each other for things that had nothing to do with what we were talking about.
And at a certain point, “my way” was thinking, “I am so done. Why do I have to take any of this?” But then, the Holy Spirit caused me to go a different way, the way of God’s word. And so what came out of my mouth next, despite what “my way” was thinking and feeling was, “I’m sorry. I love you.”
I don’t mean to suggest that I am this holy person who is sooo in-tune with the voice of the Holy Spirit, either. God knows the kind of sinner that I am. Honestly, at the time, the pride in me made it feel like I was whipping myself on the back as I said those words.
It is only because I had not forgotten the word of God—that is, it is only because I was actively reading and reflecting on God’s word—that the Holy Spirit took the opportunity to remind me of what I should say and do, or not say or do.
My Lord Jesus sought me because I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus. The word “disciple” means “learner.” And so if I am not learning from the word of God, and if I am not applying my life to the word of God, then can I really call myself a disciple of my Lord Jesus, who is called the Living Word?
I must never take for granted that my spiritual maturity is sufficient to overcome my sin nature. I can only take for granted that Christ has overcome my sin nature for me on the cross.
That doesn’t mean I should not strive for holiness in Christ. It means that I should pursue holiness with the unlimited grace I have through faith in Him. Because His grace is sufficient
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
Father, You are holy. You are good. Your are merciful, kind, and gracious. You are love. Your lovingkindness, faithfulness, and mercy are sufficient for me despite my weakness—especially in my weakness. But may Your power rest on me—not so that I may boast about myself, but that I may boast about You. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
