You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words. I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your word. I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments. I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes. (Psalm 119:57-64)

I Thought About My Ways

God reveals Himself through the natural revelation of the world and the special revelation of His word. He has never left mankind without His word to guide them, instruct them, and show them the path of righteousness. Hearing the word of God is not an intellectual exercise in doing things the right way, in the right manner, with the right purpose. The word of God is to change the heart. A person can read the Bible year after year for fifty years and still know little about its message. If the word does not change the heart, the word is merely serving as an exercise without purpose.

The psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 loved the word of God with all their heart, soul, mind, and body. It is clear how much the word of God changed them. He speaks of the change in every part of his life. The word of God was his portion, or everything he needed. He coupled prayer with the word to know the depths of God’s love and mercy. Reading the word prompted him to reflect on his life and the decisions he had made. He did not read the scriptures to read the scriptures but to learn how to change his life. Because he read the word of God and thought about his ways, he changed his life. That is the purpose of the word. Understanding the message from God will change the hearts and minds of those who imbibe its divine story.

God has always expected obedience from His children. Keeping the commandments of the Lord springs from the heart that has been moved by His message. Thinking about the word of God challenges the soul to emulate more fully the character of the Divine. Wicked abounds around the child of God, but they find refuge in the law of God. Time is of no importance to the faithful, as the psalmist suggests he rises in the middle of the night to give thanks to God. Losing sleep over the word of God comes from thinking about the word. The righteous judgments of the Lord are something to ponder in the still of the night.

Those who love the word become companions and friends of the righteous as iron sharpens iron. For the one who fears the Lord, there is no better company than those who fear the Lord. Together, they stand united in the word of God because of their love for it. People who spend many hours mining the scriptures cannot help but share their discoveries with others of like precious faith. The children of God are thinking people who ponder the word of God daily in their hearts. It takes a willing heart to open to the Divine message and apply the teachings of Jesus to everyday living.

The unfailing love of God fills the earth with His message. Jesus is the Word, and through Him all men can find the peace that passes all understanding. The Christian is someone who thinks about the word of God as they spend many hours harvesting the fruit of diligent Bible study. There is no book of greater value. If all the writings of man were destroyed, the Bible would remain untouched. What man possesses today is far beyond what the psalmist had. The completed revelation of God opens the portals of heaven for the mortal eye to glimpse the infinite glory of God. There is no greater message than the word of God. It takes an open heart to hear, understand, and apply the word to the heart. Think about the ways of the Lord and turn the heart to the testimonies and commandments of the Lord.