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Making Time

For I find my delight in Your commandments, which I love.

Psalm 119:47
Making Time Book Cover

Psalm 119 is a love letter about God’s law. The author gushes over it. He delights in God’s statues not because he’s just one of those type A rule-followers, but because God gave us his Word to tell us who he is and who we are in light of what he has done. When we read our Bibles, we better understand who we are and to whom we belong.

Confession: We all read our Bibles imperfectly. Our efforts won’t be enough. We won’t have all the background information. We won’t know exactly what Jesus meant. Still we read. It will confuse us and convict us and sometimes make us cry and sometimes make us mad. Still we read. It will comfort us and make us laugh and give us goosebumps.

We read because this is how God reveals himself to us—not just how he revealed himself to some ancient writers at one point in history, though that’s true, but reveals himself to us, to you, now. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through God’s Word. Whether you choose a Bible study, a Bible reading plan, or a favorite book of the Bible, when you read to know God, he will make himself known to you.

It's God's Time

Reading the Bible begins like any good habit: intentionally doing it. This means scheduling time to do it. It may mean substituting Scripture reading for lunch with coworkers or waking up a half hour earlier and reading with your first cup of coffee in the silence of the house. Set a timer so you can designate that time for God. That time is God’s time, and the work project or dirty dishes don’t matter. They have their own time. One particular day may get derailed, but you wake up the next morning with fresh resolve and fight for that time with God. Without this daily meeting, we can easily forget who God is and who he made us to be.

It doesn’t matter if you met Jesus last night or have been following him for half a century. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t cracked the spine on your Bible or if your Bible is falling apart. We all need this reminder to make time because we all forget or get too busy or think we’ve read this before or we won’t get it anyway or we’ve already gotten it all (which will never be true, by the way). Pray that God will give you an appetite for the Word.

The more you get in the Bible, the more you’ll delight in it and crave to hear God’s voice more. But it starts with today.

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Daily Question

Open your Bible to Psalm 119 and read verses 41–48. How does knowing God’s Word change David? How does it guide his responses? What is David’s attitude toward God’s Word?

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Comments (10)

He loves it and he devours it cause he knows knowing Gods word will keep his focus on God. He also knows that God’s word will keep him from being consumed by the enemy. It totally consumes him.

David knew God by his words, commands and statutes. He knew who he was in God eyes. It gave David great joy in knowing God’s word.

David loves the Lord and he longs to know Him intimately. David recognizes that he will draw closer to God through His word. David mediates on the word of God and strives to follow the commands of our Heavenly Father each day. I love the psalms and have been comforted, instructed and convicted many times as I have studied the Living Word of God.

David is eager in his obedience. When I read this psalm I can feel the anticipation David has for hearing God’s word. I can also hear his determination to defend and share God’s word. David is also proud to be a follower of God and the liberty that comes with it.

David loves the Word because it comes from God, it is his conversation with God. He realizes that it is God’s wisdom and advice for his everyday life and so he meditates and reflects on it throughout the day. David is a model or example for us because he is human. We can be like David, the man and read, meditate and reflect on what God says to us in His word in the Bible.

David loves God’s Word. We need to ignore and fight the enemy who doesn’t want us reading God’s Word. That’s my battle everything else gets in the way

Knowing God’s Word gives David hope, a desire to obey God’s instruction, and freedom to walk freely. It allows David to answer those who taunt him with truth and to speak of God’s decrees before kings without shame. David delights in God’s word and meditates on it.

How does knowing God’s speech guide David’s responses? Because he knows God, he trusts God and what He has said. Because he knows and trusts, his responses are full of confidence, hope and assurance. Notice the many "I will" responses he gives. His attitude towards God’s speech? He says "which I love" in verse 48a. He loves God’s speech.

David finds delight and lifts up his hands in praise to the God who loves us. God’s love guides David and David submits to the love of God. David delights in God’s Word.

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