Have you ever been on a journey and found that the road conditions you encountered were not what you were hoping for when you began? It is a little bit like our walk of faith as a follower of Jesus.
We know He told us He came so we might have life and life more abundantly. The Bible tells us we were healed by the stripes of Jesus and our expectation is because His Word holds that promise then so shall it be. We choose to trust that God will fulfill all of our needs for healing and give us all things pertaining to life and godliness simply because it is a promise in His Word. Jesus also said we only need faith the size of a mustard seed in order to speak to our mountain of difficulty and cast that mountain into the sea.
In spite of these promises, we do encounter sickness, trials, temptations, lack and need poorly prepared.
The question then is whether we are willing to become aggressive in our prayer life. Are we willing to dig our feet into the soil of God's Word and be steadfast and determined to see those things He has promised us come to fruition in our lives?
Through the Beckoned by the King Bible study over the past few months, I have seen, in a fresh way that the stanzas of Psalm 119 all build upon each other and as we apply the truths to our hearts, we progress in our relationship with God. I have greatly benefited from the Bible study because I am able to apply the Scriptures to the hard experiences my husband and I are going through.
To give you a very brief oversight, Psalm 119 begins with the picture of our lives being yoked to the Lord and learning His ways. Here the symbolic meaning of the Hebrew alphabet letter is a picture of oxen ploughing with a literal meaning of ox or bull and indicates strength, leadership and first.
As we learn His ways, we begin the process of making choices that are in alignment with His Word, thereby doing our part as we choose to walk in purity before God. We learn that there is only one way we can keep our walk pure and that is to live them by keeping His Word.
The third stanza speaks to us of becoming strong, dependable and reliable. Again, it reiterates that the Word of God is our counselor, helping us to live and keep God's Word. The prayer of the Psalmist is answered in verse 18, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law" and he is given a completely new perspective as he moves into the next group of eight verses where that "Hebrew alphabet letter is a picture of an open door when looked at from up above. It is indicative of decisions made from a higher perspective." (Beckoned by the King)
When we pray this prayer, the Lord will open our eyes and we will realize that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. From that higher place with Him, we will perceive that the Lord wants us to view the experiences of life from a higher perspective. As Christians our lives are hidden with Christ in God and we are not to judge circumstances of life from a worldly perspective, else we find that our soul "cleaves to the dust" and we need the water of the Word to revive us.
Jesus is the Door we entered when we became His followers and He longs for an intimate relationship with us. He knows when we weep, when we choose the false way and are in desperate need of His strength. He understands the cry of our heart to choose the faithful way by meditating on God's Word, our need to understand as He teaches us the laws of the Kingdom.
It is when we pass through the difficulties of life that we experience the sufficiency of the Almighty. When our road of life throws unexpected events at us, experience teaches us that we must hold fast to the Word of God and His promises.
Will you allow your testimony to be that your climb toward holiness was well worth your arduous effort? Though the journey is lengthy and wrought with difficulty - even though it may seem that rods of iron have blocked the way - will you allow the Holy One to open your eyes so you can see the Son of Righteousness shining upon your path with ever-increasing light?
Will He find faith in you, a sound eye and a body full of the light of His Word? Will you determine that your daily decisions will be choices that are motivated by the heart of the Lord your God?
As for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord and claim victory in our trials knowing that it is our faith that has overcome and we are more than conquerors. We have learned by experience over the years that our God is faithful and we continue in steadfast love and adoration, trust and unswerving faith.