BE MEASURED

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to Your word.

I gave an account of my ways and You answered me; teach me Your decrees. Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts, that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws. I hold fast to Your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of Your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.

Psalm 119:25-32

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How does God feel about the way you are living your life?

Do you ever even take it into consideration?

My concern is that this is something often not pondered as we go through the rigors of our daily schedules. We run from place to place and complete task after task and when we’re done, it’s time to lay down and go to sleep so we can awake and do it all over again. It can be easy to not take the time to reflect.

As we’re now into the season of Lent, the days of reflection and recommitment leading up to Easter where we are to seek to get our lives right with God, today’s word from the 119th Psalm is timely and instructional when it comes to the matter of bearing our souls before God, asking Him to assess and measure us. Consider these words of the psalmist:

I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to Your word.

I gave an account of my ways and You answered me; teach me Your decrees. Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts, that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws. I hold fast to Your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of Your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.

The first thing we see here when it comes to allowing God to measure us is to come to Him in humility. We have to see ourselves as broken before Him, laid low in the dust and weary in sorrow. We bow before God in need of His help and strength and preservation so we might become the people He wants us to be.

Next, we need to present ourselves before God as we are, giving Him a full account of our ways. When we do this, you can expect that He will answer, giving you feedback after His assessment as He seeks to lead you ever more toward righteousness and holiness.

Once we receive God’s feedback as He measures us against His will and word, the next step is to respond to Him in obedience. Look at how the psalmist hungered and thirsted for more and more from God and His word:

- Teach me Your decrees.

- Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds.

- Keep me from deceitful ways.

- Be gracious to me and teach me your law.

When we allow the Lord to assess us and earnestly seek to allow Him to make us better from the inside out, something awesome happens. We can’t get enough of His assessment and assistance. We, like the psalmist, find ourselves consistently and persistently seeking the Lord’s teaching. We yearn to understand His ways so we can make them our ways. We desire to turn from sin toward righteousness.

And God is more than willing to fulfill our longings.

So what is the end product? What happens when we seek and find the Lord’s instruction and gain His wisdom?

It’s simple. The focus of our lives turns toward God and His will and way as we permit Him to guide our steps no matter what life brings.

Like the psalmist, we choose the way of faithfulness, longing to be as committed to the Lord as He is to us. We set our hearts on His laws and hold fast to His statutes. We run on the path laid down by the Lord’s commandments, finding our understanding broadened with every stride and step.

Friends, the first step to spiritual growth is coming to God in humility, realizing your complete need for Him and His help.

Won’t you bow before Him and be measured today?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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