By: Dale Weckbacher
Psalm 119:1
(CSB)
In the Declaration of Independence, one of the founding
documents of the United States, it states that one of the unalienable rights of
each individual is the pursuit of happiness. (1) It is interesting to note that the authors of
this historic document did not say we had the right to happiness but just the
pursuit of it. In Psalm
119:1-8 we see both a path to the achievement of happiness but also the
psalmists admission of his failure to achieve that happiness ending with a call
on God to not abandon him despite his failures.
When we think of happiness, we think of an enjoyable time
with friends or family that is free from trouble. We think of times of laughter or things that
bring a smile to our faces. However, the
word translated happy in Psalm
119:1-2 is esher (2)
which also means blessed. This expanded
definition leads to the conclusion that a blessed and happy life comes from
seeking God and living a life of obedience to His Word (Psalm
119:1-3).
While God commands that His precepts be diligently kept, the
author of the Psalm admits to not diligently keeping the statures of God (Psalm
119:4-5). This leads to a feeling of
shame on his part (Psalm
119:6). This part of the Psalm ends
with the psalmist praising God upon learning God’s righteous judgments, a
commitment to keep God’s statutes, and a plea for God not to abandon him (Psalm
119:7-8).
The words some assembly required strike fear in anyone who
has spent Christmas Eve night laboring over the instructions on assembly of a
present our children desperately want. Generally,
the failure to properly complete the assembly of the present is the result of
not properly following the assembly instructions. I believe this is the feeling of the psalmist
at coming to the honest realization of not diligently following God’s Word even
though it was right in front of him.
Diligence in following the principles of the Word of God
starts when we accept Jesus as our savior for this rids our hearts of sin,
allowing us to begin understanding the Bible.
I therefore want to urge anyone reading this who does not have a
personal relationship with God through Christ to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, were
buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.
Congratulations on taking the first step to biblical
happiness. While this step is crucial,
diligence in following the precepts of God is an ongoing process involving,
1)
Communication (Psalm
119:18-24) – Communication in any relationship involves both listening and
speaking. We speak to God through prayer
which does not need to be some eloquent use of words but a simple conversation
with God. I try to begin each day with
prayer and find that beginning the day in that way enables me to continue the
conversation throughout the day.
2)
Learning (Romans
12:2) – The learning process when it comes to the Bible is an ongoing
process of transformation of our minds.
Prior to accepting Jesus as our savior our minds were carnal and
tarnished by sin (Romans
7:14). We must therefore transform
our minds through diligent study to learn more about God’s Word. We do this through a combination of corporate
study from a pastor/teacher at church and personal study.
3)
Empowerment (Luke
24:49) – Jesus, knowing what was ahead for His followers after he left
them, was not about to throw them to the wolves without first empowering them
with the power of the Holy Spirit. We
see the results of this empowerment in the transformation of Peter in Acts
2 from a timid fearful man denying Jesus to a man boldly declaring the
message of the Gospel to people that just a few days earlier were calling for
the crucifixion of Jesus.
A biblically happy and blessed life is the result of
obedience to the precepts of the Bible, the Word of God. Like the psalmist of Psalm
119, none of us has lived in total obedience to the Bible. However, God has not abandoned us (Hebrews
13:5) but provided restoration and salvation through Jesus. As we then continue communication with God,
diligent study to learn the precepts of the Bible, and allow the Holy Spirit to
empower us, we can begin to enjoy a blessed life in Christ. While this does not insure a life free from
trials, we can be joyful in these times (James
1:2) knowing that God’s plans for our lives are good (Jeremiah
29:11) and that all things will work for our good (Romans
8:28).
1. ushistory.org. The Declaration of
Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.]
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.
2. Strongs
Concordance. Esher. www.godrules.com. [Online] Godrules.com. [Cited:
January 14, 2018.] http://www.godrules.net/library/strongs2a/heb835.htm.
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