Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
    and who seek Him with all their heart.
They also do no wrong;
    they walk in His ways.
You have commanded us
    to keep Your precepts diligently.
Oh, that my ways were established
    to keep Your statutes!
Then I shall not be ashamed,
    when I have my focus on all Your commandments.
I will praise You with an upright heart,
    when I have learned Your righteous judgments.
I will keep Your statutes;
    do not completely abandon me.”
(Psalm 119:1-8)

Right out of the gate, David hits it HARD. This is the whole psalm in a nutshell. God’s Word is THE THING. We need to love it. We need to love it like we love our food, like we love our kids, and like we love our spouse. It is the lifeblood of thanksgiving because the Word aligns our minds with God’s mind to that we can understand Him and what He says. So that we see what position He should occupy. So that we can witness His glory and His moral character. So that we will know Him and by knowing Him, trust Him. The Word deepens our relationship with God. It strengthens it. It gives us what we need to really focus our trust in Him. It never steers us wrong and it always works to bring us closer to Him. It’s not a stand-alone tool, but it is a foundational one. We all need a love of the Word in our hearts.

Summary

Following God is simple, but not easy. It is all about trust. And the Word is given to us to deepen and strengthen that trust (Romans 10:17). Without it we dry up. We wander. It is a marvellous tool for making sure we keep our eyes on Him. Without time spent in the Word on a consistent basis, reading it with intent to see Jesus on every line, with intent to get something new (new commentary, new understanding, not new revelation to replace the Word), we do not succeed in our walk. It IS our daily bread and we need to consume it.