Psalm 119 Devotional
22 Days: Knowing is Loving
Day 3 (Gimel – verses 17-24)
Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times. You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Your commandments. Take away reproach and contempt from me, for I observe Your testimonies. Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.
Have we ever thought about the demands that we make of God? Have we ever considered all that we ask of God? I know that I do, and it is humbling when I sit back and think about who exactly I am making those demands of, and the humbling continues when I place my asking in light of the things happening in this world. Once again, our psalmist has presented us with a list that we can look at. For the devotion today we three demands we can see are, “Deal bountifully with Your servant,” “open my eyes,” and “take away reproach and contempt from me.”
Are we thinking perhaps about the demands that come our way during the day? I would bet that even as you read this some of those demands are crossing your mind. There are two types of demands that are present in our days, those placed upon us and those we place upon others. I often wonder how God reacts to the demands that we bring to Him. There again is that humbling that many of us just might need. I would encourage you to start writing down your requests of God. Those are your prayers and, in those prayers, demands, and requests I do believe you will find God’s mercy and grace on display in how He has answered them.
Now I am not going to make today’s devotional about what should or should not be prayed for. I will instead look at the psalmist and see what follows his demands. After all, God’s word is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The psalmist makes three demands of God, but as we observe the demands are made to bring the psalmist closer to God. First so that God’s word would be kept. Secondly, a demand was followed with the fact that he desired to behold God’s word (perhaps seeing God’s Word with a sense of awe is a better description). The third demand was followed with the desire to always observe God’s word (as we observe, a growth in knowledge follows).
Lord God, as You hear my demands, please let me realize to whom I am in the presence of. Your grace and mercy allow me to speak to the One who is the Creator of all things. Who Lord, who am I to be demanding anything of You? Lord God as I call on You may I always find that I know You more and grow more Christ-like in every aspect of my life.