Psalm 119:35 Path Illogical

Dr. Phil's guests describe their unproductive habits and the resulting mess of their lives, and his response is always,

"And how's that working for you?"

No one is quite sure who first said or wrote another popular phrase:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”

Both of these address a behavior we all know to be true, because we've all been guilty of it. We know what we ought to do. We know that what we're currently doing is causing problems for us. And yet we keep on doing the same self-defeating things over and over again.

Paul expressed something similar in Romans 7:15.

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

David confesses to God that he needs help with this problem.

Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.

Psalm 119:35

Like the psychologist's patients who hear the doctor's advice week after week but fail to actually follow through, many people  approach God's commands like a pep talk, but never actually obey them. James knew this:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

James 1:22-25

James' "they will be blessed in what they do" echoes David's "delight comes from doing."

So, how can you work toward changing what seems to be an endless cycle? How can you shift toward actually taking steps down the path of obeying the commands?

The answer is to pray before you read the commands of God. Pray every time before you read the Word.

Lord, as I read your commands, plant them not only in my mind and in my heart, but in my feet! Guide me through your Word so I can explore practical ideas for living it out in my daily life. Help me to make plans and to carry out those plans to pursue the path you've laid out, the path that results in delight. Lord, I need some delight in my life. Shake me up so I stop ignoring the guidance you've provided in the scriptures.