Psalm 119:36, 37: A double turn.(please click here for todays Bible passage)

Here are two complimentary turnings, the one positive; the other negative: ‘’Turn my heart toward…Turn my eyes away…’’

Consider:

  • We need God’s help if we are going to love His Word. He creates spiritual appetite;
  • Spiritual desire can help us to overcome selfish ambition. God’s Word is life’s truest treasure. It matters much more than money in the bank The more we love God and His Word, the less material things will captivate our hearts;
  • There are empty, vain and ‘’worthless things’’ that do not warrant our attention. They may seem to offer life, but they are nebulous and hard to hold on to. They burst like bubbles in the bath. Their promise quickly disappears;
  • On the other hand, true life is to be found in the Bible. There our lives are renewed.

Although we can and should pray that we will love God’s Word and that we won’t give time and attention to meaningless things, it strikes me that we also have responsibilities to do what we can with God’s help. Let’s do those things that cultivate spiritual appetite, and make wise choices: take steps to close off unhealthy (and dirty) streams. In my experience, the more time and attention we give to the things of God, the more time and attention we will want to give to them and our desires for lesser things will weaken. So, let’s ask God to turn our hearts toward and our eyes away, but let’s also do everything we can to fight. Jesus shows us how:

‘’Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.’’ (Matthew 4:8). Jesus was not deceived. He saw that although ‘Sodom’ looked good (Genesis 13:10a), it was corrupt and doomed (Genesis 13:10b, 13). He dealt with the temptation by means of the Word of God (Matthew 4:10, 11). He used ‘’the sword of the Spirit’’ (Ephesians 6:17) to fend off and chase away the evil one.

Prayer: ‘’May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.’’ (1 Kings 8:58).