SOUNDING OUT:
There’s No Substitute for God’s Word

   Early on, I learned that there is no substitute for God’s Word. There is no way to develop my relationship with God without a relationship with His Word. There is no way to know God’s will for my life without knowing what He declared in His written Word. God’s Word establishes God’s will and teaches how to develop our intimacy with God. I find myself longing to enjoy my relationship with God as much at this very moment, as I have at any time in my life.

    When I choose grace over law… When I choose relationship over regimen… It makes all the difference in my life. My relationship with God becomes freeing not confining. It becomes tender not troubled… It becomes exciting not boring. I’m thrilled that I am as spiritually hungry and thirsty as I have ever been. Where at one time I saw “burn-out” as a real problem, I don’t any longer. The truth of the Word exhilarates me. I feel like a kid in a candy store most of the time, because I’ve learned to delight myself in the Word and not forget it. (Psalm 119:16) My prayer echoes the psalmist who said, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Psalms 119:18).

    You know I love Psalms 119, The Acrostic Psalm of God’s Word. It is the longest Psalm in the Bible. It is the longest chapter also. The Word of God is mentioned in every verse except 122.. After the first three verses, God is addressed in every verse except one (verse 115), and He is referred to in that verse. It is such a beautiful enfolding of the Psalmist’s relationship with God that is built on the solid foundation of His Word. As such, it is an example for us to follow as we yearn to know our heavenly Father more intimately.

    In Psalms 119 the Psalmist directs his heart to God and after the first three verses he speaks directly to God. What we find in Psalms 119 is someone intent on developing His relationship with God through the revelation of His Word. This becomes obvious when we realize that first person pronouns (I, me, my, mime, myself; those referring to the Psalmist) occur 312 times. Second person singular pronouns (thy, thou, thee, thine; those referring to God are used 261 times. The ten different words used for God’s Word occur over 200 times, There are only 176 verses in Psalms 119. So, on the average we find at least one representative from all these categories in each verse. What we have in each verse is the psalmist relating to God through His wonderful matchless Word.

    Perhaps we all have favorite verses in Psalms 119. Let’s read a few of my favorites.

   Here we see the Psalmist addressing God. He refers to God twice (thy & thee). He refers to himself (I, mine, I) three times. He refers to God’s Word once (word). The psalmist is telling God how he has used God’s Word to develop his relationship with Him. Not only is this an accurate portrayal of David’s heart, but because it is recorded on the pages of God’s Word, it is an example for us to follow. The Word hid in the heart gives one the power to obey and be victorious in life.

   The Psalmist interacts with God around His Word. See how he builds his relationship with God on the accuracy of God’s Word? He requests God’s help and commits to God through thee greatness of His Word. Experiencing the power of God in daily living builds a respect and a love for the Word that is so foreign to many people.

   It doesn’t matter what people do or what the circumstances are, nothing should alter our reverence for God and His Word. While most people stand in awe of powerful people, our heart is awed by God’s Word that as Nebuchadnezzar says, “Changes the king’s word.” When we esteem it like Job did, above all our necessary food, as it says in Job 23:12 it becomes the joy and rejoicing of our heart as it was for Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:16. We can have the same relationship with God that any of these men in the Bible did.