Teach me. O LORD, the way of thy statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy Law,
And keep it in my heart.
Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments,
For I delight in it.
Incline my heart to Thy testimonies,
And not to dishonest gain.
Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Thy ways.
Establish Thy word to Thy servant,
As that which produces reverence for Thee.
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Thine ordinances are good.
Behold, I long for Thy precept;
Revive me through Thy righteousness.(NAS)
Teach me the WAY of Thy Statutes! Teach me How to obey. Show me the reasoning behind Your Law, and guide me into the love of obedience. Give us an understanding by the example of Jesus how to see that God’s Law is the Voice of Goodness and Mercy. Don’t let the world deceive us into thinking that we know what is best. Only God’s perfect will is worthy of our attention. Isaiah 30:18 reads; “For the LORD is a faithful God.. Blessed are those who wait for Him to Help them.” Satan doesn’t want us to follow God’s Heart. Isaiah 30:21; continues with; “And your ears will hear a word behind you saying ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or the left.” Temptation is trying to lead us away from God’s will. The Spirit of God says otherwise. Walk Christ’s way, turn neither to the right nor the left. Go straight with God’s grace and instruction. Proverbs 3:5-6 confirms this: “Turst in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.”
Seek the instruction of God to know how to obey The Lord. Don’t be afraid to pray to the Lord that you need His Holy guidance. Tell God what you want in your lives, asking Him how to accomplish His will in your walk and whether your goals are in His designs for your life. I do believe that you can have a godly vocation in the mundane world. Your job should be an extension of Christ’s walk. If you can not be godly on the job, you need to change your attitude at work or change your work. Let God help you understand His commitment to your well being and allow His commandments to guide you to a healthy and spiritually fulfilling life, a life that is both giving and receiving Happiness.
God’s walk is not a passive one. The psalmist says “Make me go!” It is not help me go or encourage me to go, it is MAKE ME GO. Make me eager, give me the strong desire, compel me to hear God’s Heart for my life. How can we truly Love God and live in His Grace if we don’t understand that His Love is tempered with the Law of Obedience? We need to put aside forever the worldly distractions that pull us away from Service to the LORD of Salvation. I looked up many translations of verse 36 and found such things as worldly vanities, greed, love of money, selfish gain, dishonest gain and inane things, worthless gain, worthless things, senselessness and foolishness. Because I don’t speak Hebrew, I can’t really tell you what the Psalmist meant but I think that he was trying to say not to put your trust in the things of the world. Put away the desires of wealth, fortune and glory; turn away from the desires of self importance and humble yourself before God. Micah 6:8 says “…to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly” with your God.
Vanity seeks to place yourself ahead of God, as does the love of money or the fear of the loss of wealth. These things are idol worship. Vanity was the sin of Eve and the ruin of Adam. They sought to be equal to God, they sought the Vanity of self-importance and became ashamed of their own inadequacies. It wasn’t the taking of the fruit that was the sin, it was the desire to be equal to God. They listened to the foolishness of the serpent. The Love of Money or the delusion of the importance of wealth has led many to destruction. From these desires comes many sins, greed, lies, theft, slander and corruption. But the most vile of the sins that springs from the love of money is the illusion that it makes you important and gives you value over others.
Be reassured that Christ is the ONLY value that we should seek after. He is the Promise of God, the Honor of Salvation and the Hope of Eternal Life. In Him you have humility, grace and mercy. Through Him you shall seek God. In all things, God is given the Glory. By God, all glory is received. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we establish a godly relationship with the Father. With Christ, we develop a rapport with God, working with His will to do good things for His sake. Let God’s Law better ourselves so that our minds, spirit and wills seek only to do what is pleasing to Him. Be devoted to the work of the Father and the commandment to love and to serve. Seek to do the will that is proof of seeking God’s choices.
Let God Lead us away from the distractions that tend to focus ourselves on things that are of the world. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from ourselves for what we are is evil in God’s sight. Long for The Divine Lovingkindness to Revive us. Let God restore a right life within us. Revigerate our walk, Preserve a Loving heart and work within us a holy and blameless work. Dream of the wonders of His Love, the correctness of His law and the perfect desire for our lives, living with the instruction of His Heart, the heart of Jesus. Put obedience of God first in our lives so that righteousness pours forth with every fibre of our existence.
Revive us, for without Christ, we are dead to the Salvation of Reconciliation. Because of the gift of Jesus given to us, we are able to be as the Psalmist cries out, Restored with a new heart, one that Loves as God loved us.