GOD’S WORD IS REAL

Psalm 119:160 New Living Translation

“The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.”

Essence - The inherent, unchanging nature of a thing.

Truth - Conformity to fact, reality or actuality.

            Fact - Something believed to be true or real.

            Reality - The quality or state of being actual or true.

            Actuality - The state or fact of being real; reality.

Regulations - A principle, rule, or law designed to control or govern conduct.⁽¹⁾

       Above I have listed what I consider to be the key words of verse 160.  It speaks of the Word of God and the standards by which we are to live as followers of Christ.  We first find that the Word of God is said to be unchanging by the use of the word ‘essence’. The fact that the Word is referred to as ‘truth’ leads us to believe that it is factual, actual and real.  It is our choice whether we believe that or not.  If you are a born again Christian you hamper your own growth if you do not accept God’s Word as true.  We can never know all there is to know about God or his purposes. We can never truly understand with any absolute certainty what every nuance and verse means in all of scripture. Therefore, we must unleash our faith and trust in God just as we did when we first received Christ and accept that there are many things we simply will not understand. That doesn’t make God’s Word any less truthful or real.  It simply means we don’t know. Do we really need to know or do we just need to trust him? That is also a choice you must make. 

       The word the New Living Translation chose to use for God’s statutes was ‘regulations’.  By strict definition we see that would be rules or laws designed to control conduct.  It must be noted that our conduct is our own.  We are neither puppets, nor are we slaves.  The way we live is the way we choose to live based on the standards God sets forth in his Word.  Do we have to abide by them? No.  Is it to our benefit to do so? Absolutely. 

       If we take the Bible in it’s entirety and don’t just cherry pick certain verses that we like and/or agree with, we will begin to see a picture form in our minds eye of what God’s purpose for us in this world is.  We are his representatives in a cruel, dark and dying world.  We can make a difference if we will only abide by the instructions laid out by our living Lord.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

RESOURCE: The Life Application Study Bible; published by Tyndale House.  

⁽¹⁾  American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.