...So Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws and I will always obey your law, for ever and ever and so I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. And then I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame...Having resolved to boldly go into 2018, why not continue to follow David's example and ask God to never take His word of truth from your mouth?
Psalm 119:43-46
But what does that even mean?
I understand it as a request that God not make us all out to be liars - you, me, and David - when we answer the taunts of others and the taunts of our own minds with a confident statement that God's love covers everything we've ever done, and that He has taken steps to save us from ourselves.
You and I have based our entire bold and hopeful approach to this new year upon a renewed commitment to spend quality time immersed in the Word of God, and upon our intention to develop new habits of obedience to whatever we find there.
That's all great and good, but what if God doesn't hold up His end of that bargain? Can we trust Him?
When David implores God to never take His Word out from his mouth, he's speaking plainly, as was David's habit. From the Psalms, the textbook of prayer, we learn that this "man after God's own heart" felt free to speak to God from the depths of His own heart. He tells God whatever is on his heart even when he's angry, in despair, ready to give up, in a murderous rage, or, as he does here, even when he has doubts.
Haven't you ever doubted? I know I have. The Adversary loves to pull on the threads of every small question and each little doubt. Instead of letting that crafty conniver play with your hidden doubts, get them out in the open. Talk to God about them.
David always couches his straight talk with God in an overall attitude of faith and submission. He doesn't laugh at the idea that God could fail Him. Instead, he speaks conversationally here.
By the way, God, this only works if you're really serious about this. Love and grace and forgiveness are not the sort of things most people expect from their so-called gods. It's the very reason I worship you as the One True God. So . . . let it be true.
And, Lord, I'm confident it's all true because your Word is so very clear about your love and your offer of salvation.
It's that grounding in scripture, and not just our feelings about God on any given day, that gives us true freedom. It's a liberty unlike any other, to go forth and live life boldly. Without the commitment to becoming a people of the Word, we'll become a people of failure and of slavery to frustration.
God's Word, His love, His salvation, grant us the freedom to live boldly for Him, to speak to everyone we meet about Him, even to people who have power in this world. They need to hear us speak to them about God's love and salvation, so much more than they need to hear us tell them about our political views.
Quite frankly, I've seen way too many Christians bring shame to themselves and to the Church over the past few years, boldly shouting to the world about their politics. They seem to have forgotten that to speak clearly and boldly about the love and salvation of God will never bring shame.
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