DELIGHT IN HIS COMMANDS

Psalm 119:143 (NIV) “Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.”

Ever have problems? Have they ever seemed overwhelming to you? Just say ‘yes’ … I know you have. We all have.
The commands this Psalm is speaking of is the Ten Commandments. It has to be them because the Psalms are in the Old Testament, prior to the birth of Christ.

Do you know why God’s commands are important to believers even today? We are not required to live by them the way the patriarchs in the OT were, because our salvation is a gift given to us by the grace of God. In the OT, the forgiveness of sins came from the blood sacrifices that were made by an individual for his own sins. They had to make these sacrifices each year to blot out their sin. Christ’s blood covered our sins once for all time. See the difference? So why are the OT commandments important to believers today? They provide a boundary for us.

Let me conclude the above thought about the commandments and our not being required to live by them for our salvation. While we are not required, we end up doing so anyway. If we are truly seeking a righteous life in obedience to the word of God it will become our natural desire and inclination to obey the 10 Commandments even though it is no longer required. Does that make sense?

So God’s commands provide for us what rules in a household by a parent provide to their child, a boundary for them … so you know just how far you can go without straying into a danger zone. Ever use a shock collar on a dog to keep them from running off your property? I have and it works like a charm. Doesn’t hurt the dog, just gives them a little shock to get their attention and stop them in their tracks. When you have dogs that dig out under your backyard fence and run away, it becomes a necessary tool to avoid the breakout. While we aren’t dogs, I think you can see where I am going with this. The wire buried under the fence provides a barrier or boundary that the dog cannot pass through without receiving a warning. The Holy Spirit provides the warning when we stray to far from where God knows we belong.

We are to take delight in these commands from our God. It can be looked at as just another way He shows us His great love for us. If He didn’t care about our well being, then why would He care where we went? He wouldn’t, that’s the point; but He does.

So next time you are in a mess with turmoil all around you, remember His word and the fact that He is will you wherever you go AND delight in His commands, for there is life in them.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!