AP

Psalm 119:18-19 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.  I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

It is becoming more and more obvious as we seek to be faithful to our Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are strangers on earth.  We have so many confusing and hostile voices and ideas impacting our ears and minds on a daily basis that it is imperative for us to join in the Psalmist’s prayer to our God that he will enable us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to ‘see wonderful things’ in his law.

What a wonderful privilege it is for us to have easy access to his Word in the Scriptures, and that he promises us the help of the Holy Spirit to reveal to us a clear understanding of his directions for our lives.

It is not surprising that the more our world rejects the ‘commands’ from God, the more lost and confused it becomes, and the more it makes a mess of things.  In the very first Psalm we read: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.   He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”  How true we find these words to be in our own lives and experiences.

We may not always ‘prosper’ in the way the world measures prosperity, but in terms of peace of mind, contentment, and future hope, the world is not in the same league!  Even as I write this I begin to feel quite emotional about what my daily Bible reading means to me, and helps me not to just ‘take for granted’ how my Heavenly Father uses his Word to comfort, guide and strengthen me as a ‘stranger on earth’. It also encourages me to be more prayerful for my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are denied access to God’s Word, either because they don’t have it – in their heart language, or at all – or because they are under constant surveillance and persecution.  It also encourages me to pray for my friends and neighbours, that the Lord might ‘open their eyes’ to ‘see wonderful things in his law’, and discover the amazing joy, peace, comfort and meaning that can be had by seeking to live a lifestyle in the light of ‘his commands’.
– Bruce Christian