Tune My Heart, Episode 42
- Stacy Bishop
- May 9
- 3 min read
Happy Sunday, friend. As you prepare for worship this morning, let’s take a moment of quiet to invite God’s presence into your awareness today.
Episode 42
Today’s reading will be Psalm 119:97-112:
מ Mem
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow your righteous laws.
107 I have suffered much;
preserve my life, Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,
and teach me your laws.
109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands,
I will not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111 Your statutes are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
I love this whole first section (verses 97-104). The entire thing is one long praise. There’s no “but”, no request, no pleading. It’s just a praise to God for His Word. He then transitions to the second section with a popular verse: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” If you were a Christian music lover in the 80’s, you may now be humming Amy Grant’s “Thy Word.”
She really did take these verses and set them to music, yet still keep the integrity of what these verses mean. And I think if we take the very last verse of this section: “My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end,” we can understand that it’s possible because of the Word being the lamp and the light for David’s steps. When we follow in step with God’s Word and what He is asking of us, we can trust that we can keep His decrees to the end—even when we don’t know what that’s going to look like. We can trust His guidance, His faithfulness and His Word. It reminds me of Corrie Ten Boom and her stories of surviving Nazi concentration camps. She held fast to the Word and trusted that He was with her, even in the worst of her experiences.
Let’s make that our prayer today.
God, I confess that I’m quick to turn to my heart and my instincts before I turn to Your Word in good and bad seasons. Help us to cling to Your faithfulness and to Your Word as our guide and our hope. Help us to not neglect your Word. As we sing Your praises today, help us to recall Your faithfulness and Your truth and to let that stir up authentic praise within us. You are so good. And Your faithful love endures forever. Amen.
A printable/downloadable copy of today's devo is available here:
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