DAY 207

COMMIT YOUR WAY TO…

Psalm 37, 38 & 39 and Acts 26

“The Lord laughs at the wicked” – do you think, or even more, believe that? Psalm 37 declares it. The Psalmist goes to great lengths telling us “not to fret because of evildoers but to put our trust in the Lord.” To drive the point home he writes commit your way to the Lord. This Psalm is believed to have been inspired by God during the Israelites captivity in Babylon!

What does it meant to commit our ways to the Lord? Does it mean following a list of rules? I don’t think so. I believe what the Psalmist is saying is to first and foremost commit yourself to God…the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This God is faithful and trustworthy, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. A God who hears the cry of the poor and lowly. A God who forgives and restores. A God who seeks to dwell in the heart of all humans.

To give ascent in your heart and mind and soul to this God is to commit to Him. Once we do so we are led in any number of ways to live and order our lives. And here are my thoughts regarding “living and ordering our lives.” The Gospel is pure Grace, we are made “right with God” through the Love of the Son. There is a freedom in living that faith. That freedom however is not what we as Westerners often think of as freedom. It is not a freedom to live destructively, but a freedom to seek first Kingdom Living…and Kingdom Living is living a life that gives life and joy and peace. Living that sort of a life requires “committing to the ways of the Lord,” again not to earn God’s favor, but rather to live into the life that is on offer to all who commit to Him who Loves us.

The question becomes can I seek to live in that manner being free of all the guilt that comes when I fail at it, can I seek to live in that manner as I resist the temptations that seek to draw me from the love of God, can I seek to live in that manner with peace and joy so others are drawn also to this God of Love…I pray that by God’s grace and strength I can do so more each day.