Falling In Love With God’s Word #10
Read Psalm 119:29-32
One common fear expressed by those contemplating following the Bible is this: what if I give my whole heart to this, and then I mess up? What if I slip along the way? What if the intentions of my heart are not always matched by my actions? These fears can stop people from devoting their lives to God’s word. I understand them, because I naturally think the same way. Actually, it wasn’t until recently that I truly discovered that woven through every story, event, command or period in scripture is one unbelievable, amazingly hard-to-believe concept: GRACE. Above all, God’s word is a place of grace. The author here is inspiring. He is basically saying: “As I try my hardest to follow your commands and stay devoted to your path, please protect me and show me grace through your law.” We would do well to imitate his humble attitude as we seek to imitate the heroes of scripture. After all, they were the biggest recipients of his grace.
Seriously, don’t you want to lead like Abraham? Be as courageous as Moses? Be as heroic as Samson? Be a mighty king like David? Be a patriarch like Jacob? I do. Yet, none of these guys (and so many others) would have been used so powerfully were it not for God extending them TONS of grace. Think about it. Abraham was addicted to lying. Moses was a stuttering murderer. Samson was a womanizer, enslaved to lust and bloodshed. David was an impulsive home-wrecker. Jacob was an insecure cheater. All of them were used in amazing ways – all because of God’s grace.
What about you? You have good intentions, but you will also fall and make mistakes. Can God use you despite this? Of course He can! We have to continually remind ourselves that the most basic characteristic of God is that He is loving and gracious to His people. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for grace is chanan, which means “to be favorably inclined toward, show compassion, or make acceptable.” It can also mean “to bend down or stoop in kindness to an inferior.” Did you get that? Let me repeat it: As we travel on this journey, the God of the universe is favorably inclined toward me, compassionate about my shortcomings, is dedicated to making me (an imperfect, sinful person) acceptable (!), and kindly bends or stoops down from His place on high to transform me from an inferior person to a holy person! Knowing that doesn’t make me shy away from diving into the Bible, but inspires me to jump in with both feet. The God of grace is on my side as I walk down this path.
Reflections
1. Do you think of “grace” when you think of God’s laws, commands, statutes and precepts? What do you think of? Where do you think this comes from?
2. Humbly pray that God will reveal more of His grace to you as you read His word.