Trust

July 17, 2023

One day last week my “read through the Bible in a year” schedule assigned just one chapter! It was not a ‘breather,’ a day to take it easy. The chapter was Psalm 119, which is 176 verses long!

You may have heard how this psalm is organized. It’s divided into 22 sections, each beginning with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Commentaries tell me that the theme is “law,” but I don’t believe it. From what I can tell, it’s about the joy of following God’s guidelines, and having faith that God’s plan for how we should live is the best plan.

I’ll admit, everything God says we should do is hard to swallow. I know it’s a package deal, everything working together for our good. My good friend Dick used to say, though, that “God gave us a brain and he expects us to use it.” If something doesn’t feel right or make sense to us, should we just follow God without protesting?

I’d say, “Yes and no.” It’s always okay to question God about why things have to be done a certain way. God is not damaged or hurt by our questions. But while questioning we still need to obey.

Talk to God! Communicate! Pour out your heart to him! You may not get the answer you want, or get it in the way you want, but love never just clam up. Pray.

Psalm 119 demonstrates the level of faith I’d like to reach one day. I’d like to celebrate God and be thankful for every bit of guidance he gives us in the Bible. As in Psalm 119, I want to tell God I trust him, over and over, in maybe 22 different ways…as I grow into that mature trust in him.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.” Psalms 119:105-06