"Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors." (v.24)
"My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." (v.28)
"Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain." (v.36)
"You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word." (v.114)
The psalmist's relationship with God's word has changed my life. My understanding of God and my relationship with Him has always been based quite strongly on how I feel. I know lots of us are like that. If we feel negative or far from God then that becomes our truth. If we have an amazing worship time and experience God's closeness, then our faith is strong. I think this is maybe how we are naturally inclined to be as women (can I get away with saying that, because I'm a girl?!).
But I found that this kind of faith doesn't really work when life is difficult. Because people in the Bible suffer extremely and still hold on to God (like the person writing this psalm), and I wasn't doing that. I was essentially chucking my Bible across the room when my life was hard and I didn't understand, or I felt I was suffering unjustly. So I got to the point of thinking, if the Bible is true, is it true for me all the time, or only when things go how I want? If I only want the truth of the Bible when it suites me, then am I really following Jesus?
Feelings, and how we think about things are sometimes very difficult to seperate, I understand this. Feelings are very powerful and they can be all-consuming, and they seem much more real to you than a line of text on a page sometimes. But they are also a rather unstable judge of truth and faith, they are changeable and they often have no foundation ("I just feel like that, ok?").
The Bible does not deny the existence of emotions, and their validity. If you just flick through the book of Psalms you will notice the overflow of feelings, from ecstatic joy, to deep sorrow. But, as the foundation of our theology, they are going to make our houses collapse. They will lead us all over the place, tie us in knots, and prevent us from hoping in God, if they are our 'truth' rather than the Bible. I know this from personal experience.
- Have you ever thought of the Bible as your counsellor? (see v.24 -far better than any of the "shrinks" people always seem to have in American TV dramas) Do you take counsel from the Bible? Like you would from your closest and wisest friend? Or are you suspicious of it?
- When you feel overwhelmed with sadness, do you turn to the Bible for strength? Or do you wallow in self-pity, letting yourself think self-pitying thoughts? (v.28)
We need God to help us to put His word above our feelings (see v.36). Our hearts need to be re-directed to God's word as our foundation. The Bible has become my most treasured possession and resource. I want it to be the foundation of my life (along with prayer, and other aspects of my relationship with Jesus).
I have found depth in God's word, and a rock-like strength, and a pair of arms open wide, and truth which can be clung to in all circumstances.
As always, I would love to hear from you, with lots of love.x
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