Why Do I Need the Word/How does the Word of God help me? Psalm 119: 32,49-50,71-72

Introduction

There was a young wife, 27 years old pregnant with her first child. In her 8 month of pregnancy the couple experienced a crisis in their family. Her husband suffered a serious health crisis and had to be hospitalized. Their world turned upside down. This was a shock to everyone and it was a major upheaval to their lives. The young woman spoke with her mom to receive encouragement and guidance through this situation. This couple was miles away from their immediate families. Her mom gave a piece of advice that puzzled her. She said, “The only thing that is going to get you through this is the Word of God.” The daughter doesn’t quite know what to say after that because her Bible stayed in her car to only come out on Sunday mornings. She is thinking- How does the Word of God help me in this situation or life in general?

How many of you have been given advice that you did not understand, not knowing how to use the advice or where to begin. This young woman was like a lot of us- We believe that Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected after three days and that is great news!! We are saved and now we need to go further to deepen our relationship with Him. Today we are going to delve into some of Psalm 119: 33-34,49-50,71-72, 105 to find out why the word of God is paramount to our lives.

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter with 176 verses. It is written as an acrostic poem with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet- 22 stanzas with 8 lines each. It’s a petition( prayer) that the Lord’s teaching guides every moment- “it’s authoritative teaching”. This psalm reveals the character of God through His Word.

Seek His Word and He will teach you: Verses 33-34: I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. He 33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.

The word pursue in verse 32 means to run after with the purpose of growing in wisdom of who and what God expects from us in His Word. When we pursue His what tells us to do in His Word that leads to obedience and away from avoiding wrong ways. Sometimes we don’t pursue God because sometimes we don’t want to change our ways of disobedience. Almost like “what I don’t know won’t hurt me mentality”, which is far from the truth or our ignorance of God’s Word. We have to allow God to teach us His character- love, patience, kindness, joy, peace- the Fruit of the Spirit through His Word.

Philippians 3:12-14: Paul in this reminds that we must press toward the mark of prize; James 1:5

James 1:5 NKJV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

God’s word brings stability to our lives. Verses 49-50: Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. 50 Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.

The psalmist just like the young woman in the introduction was facing trouble in the life of her family. She was entering into a long battle for her family!! The word of God tells that we will face trials and tribulations, afflictions, troubles but we must rely on the promises of God. The Word of God brings comfort and the promise that He will be with us through it all. This theme is woven throughout this psalm. Romans 8:28 let’s us know that all things work together for our good, to those love God and who are the called according to His purpose. He is sovereign and righteous and knows all that we go through. We can trust these promises that are in His Word and rely on His strength through it all.

His word gives us power and life. The word revive makes me think of something that is dead and brought back to life. When you think of persons who go into cardiac arrest. Their heart has stopped beating and the medical professionals start CPR until an AED (automated external defribilator) which uses an electric shock to help the heart return to normal heart rhythm. The Word of God brings a spiritually dead person to life everlasting and renews the believer. Jesus is the Living Word; the Way , the Truth, and the Life. John 1:1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Once we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, Holy Spirit- fills, dwells within us and leads us to all truth. Begin by reading the book of John and ask God to reveal Himself to you. It is amazing how the Word of God transforms your thinking- renews your mind and changes your perspective in all situations and areas of your life.

I Peter 1:23; John 3:5 Romans 12:1-2

Suffering draws our attention to God’s commands.

Verses 71-72. My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. 72 Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.

As we go through life’s challenges the Word of God will keep our eyes focused on the One who is able to keep us. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 I know from experience that it can be challenging to stay focused and prayed up but His Word sustains us and God speaks to us through His Word. When Jesus finished fasting for 40 days He was tempted by the enemy but with each temptation He combatted him with the Word. Jesus is our model for every situation we will encounter.

God tells us in His word that everything we face is a light thing and temporary and it far outweigh the expectation in the splendor that God has for us!! It doesn’t feel light but when we view our situations through God’s lenses then we know that He has great expectations for us. Jesus told us we will have trials and tribulations but we will overcome them. He is letting us know that our hope and expectation should be in Him. How do we know what He expects-it is through the understanding of His word!!!

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

James 1:12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him

Closing

The young woman that I mentioned in the introduction endured for a number of years the situation her family faced. Through learning about God through His Word changed her perspective about life. She learned we are to expect that we will go through uncomfortable/hurtful situations- loss of a parent/close friends and family through death, divorce, etc. She learned that nothing just happens but we will be delivered out of them all. Yes, we will be devastated and bruised, have the wind knocked out of us but we will make it through to the other side. He has promised in His word to never leave us nor forsake us. He will be with us until the end- He has been with us from the beginning. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We can depend on Him and deepen our relationship with Him through His Word. How do we do this? Start with reading the book of John to learn about Jesus’ ministry, read the Proverb of the day- 31 chapters for each day of the month. The You Version app has numerous Bible devotions on a number of topics.

Accept Jesus as your personal Savior is the first step- confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and you will be saved. Then, buy you a NLT bible and begin reading the book of John. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal and teach you more about Him. He will do it, He desires that all men come into the knowledge of HIM.