Meditations
“May Your unfailing love come to me, Lord, Your salvation according to Your promise… for I trust in Your word… I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Your precepts.” (Psalm 119:41-45) “If you abide in My word you are My disciples indeed. Then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
It’s definitely a love story. We would not be holding the word of God in our hands without His loving act of supplying us with it. Not a word of it was written that was not inspired by the Holy Spirit: “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet 1:21) “In verses 41-48 of Psalm 119, we hear several voices and it begins with God speaking to us in love and mercy – even God’s warnings come compassionately. We remember when Jesus’ heart certainly joined in the sadness of the rich young ruler as the young man turned and walked away upon listening to the truth that Jesus spoke. (Mark 10:22) God’s promises are full of love, because promises always imply future hope. And all His promises have their realization in Jesus Christ – ‘they are “Yes” in Christ.’ (2 Cor 1:20) What a wonder that God has spoken to us! Are we listening?” (Warren Wiersbe)
Because if we are not listening to what God has said in His word, we are in for some unexpected interruptions in our life, which most people will call having a bad day. Why would anyone ever think a day the Lord has made was “bad?” Can God make mistakes? Do you think that perhaps the rich young ruler went home and told his wife he’d just had a really bad day? “Contrary to popular opinion, love and truth don’t stand in opposition to each other. In fact, you cannot have one without the other. Jesus’ commitment to speaking the truth was propelled by His love. In the instance of His words to the young ruler, Jesus tells the bad news to a man who needs to hear so that he might see the good news he so desperately needs.” (Paul D. Tripp) Maybe folks aren’t listening to God’s word because they don’t really want to know. But if you ever want to enjoy the freedom of doing as you please, you must know what it is to do the things that are pleasing to God. Your plans and His much match up. Jesus called such a life “abiding in My word.” (Rom 6:19-23)
