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Psalm 119:20, 24 "My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. ...Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."Psalm 138:1,4-5 "I will praise you with all my heart; before the 'gods' I will sing your praise."
I love how bold David is in this Psalm. Before the false gods he will sing praises to the real Lord of Heaven! He is fearless because his love for God and his desire to honor Him is greater than any other emotion.
We could benefit from taking the same position in our lives. Our culture is filled with false gods. Money, materialism, fame, celebrities, decadent lifestyles... people worship these idols every day. They don't pray or burn incense to them, but they are idolized and raised to the highest position in millions of lives.
What's sad is that the Lord my God will probably do one of two things: deliver those who reject Him to their evil desires, that they may enjoy the fleeting pleasures of this life and suffer consequences later. Or, He will remove from the lives of those whose hearts are prepared for Him whatever is held above the Lord. If you value anything more than God, He will remove that obstacle from your life. That can hurt, especially if you love that object more than anything else in your life.
He admitted from the very beginning that He is a jealous God, and that you shall have no other Gods before Him.
Now, imagine how bold you must be, how much you must love God to stand before the false gods and idols of others and sing praises to the Lord. That is the boldness I desire for my own life.
I think God used Psalm 119 to articulate that desire for me. The other day, I could not get the word "Gimel" out of my head. I recognized it as a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. I know that Psalm 119 has verses for each letter of that alphabet, with each line beginning with the letter of that verse in the original language.
I turned to Gimel to see why it was stuck in my head. Two lines struck me - "my soul is consumed with longing for your laws" and "your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."
I am consumed with longing for my God at all times - this is how we should live. Nothing else matters more than Him. Nothing else is as permanent or as great. And, the words of God are my counselors, my strength.
I will boldly praise His name before those whose gods are man-made and temporary.
Lord Jesus, may your name be praised....amen.
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1 comment:
I, too, had the image of Gimel stuck in my head. I had asked God what to do about my husband Scott, who had left me and our three kids. He placed the image of gimel in my head, only to lead me on a journey to discover what that means and why He put that in my head. Like you, I found Psalm 119 to be the answer. I am thinking that I'm not to put Scott above God anymore (my worries, anxieties, etc.). And, let God's laws and statutes be what I seek.
Thank you for posting "Gimme More Gimel!" A friend of mine found it, after I told her that I was seeking answers about gimel and why God had put that image into my mind. Thanks again & God bless, Lea
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