Psalm 119: Waw

There is freedom in God’s Word.  In keeping His Word we get to experience the freedom it promises!  We see this coming true in the disciples after Jesus’ ascension.  During Jesus’ time on earth, the disciples were “wowed” (pun intended) by Jesus’ teachings. During His persecution and death they ran away afraid of what would happen to them.  But even though He left this earth, He did not abandon them, rather He sent a “helper,” just as He told them in John 14:

12 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in me, the works that I am doing he will do also, and he will do greater works than these because I am going to the Father.13 And whatever you ask in my name, I will do this, in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, in order that he may be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see him or know him. You know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.

I purposely included the verses before Him mentioning the Spirit of truth so we can see the bigger picture here.  Honestly, John 13-17 is a super powerful section of scripture, as it is Jesus’ last teachings to the 12 disciples.  Yet, in this section, Jesus is actually telling them what David already knew!  He is bringing to life this small section of Psalm 119 but they still didn’t get it.  They had to receive that power from on high to fully understand.  This is the same power you and I receive once we commit our lives to bringing God the Father glory through Jesus Christ!

Until this moment in Psalm 119, David is completely humbled by God. He recognizes his need for God and His Word but he turns a corner in Waw, empowered by God’s testimonies. Jesus said we would do far greater things on this earth than He did!  Can you imagine this??? The key, however, is keeping His commandments. David knew this key to the Kingdom and I pray you and I can better grasp this principle.  He was able to stand up to those who come against him and also proclaim God’s glory to those who never knew Him.  

We must beware, however, not to use this as something to benefit ourselves.  I think about a really good movie, The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington.  I won’t spoil it for you, but the basic premise is that Eli has a copy of the bible and a warlord is trying to steal it from him because he knows the book has power.  It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where it’s “every man for himself.”  A gritty flick but definitely worth the watch as it highlights the power of God’s Word!  

This is why David says, “I will take delight in your commands, which I love.”  Jesus emphasizes this with, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  It’s not, “if you love yourself” or “if you want a prosperous life” or anything having to do with us.  It’s not about us, it’s about Him! We need this constant reminder because otherwise our focus shifts to the wrong direction and we completely miss it!  Then, we blame God for not doing what He said He would do, but the problem is we never did what He said we need to do.