Tune My Heart, Episode 43
- Stacy Bishop
- May 15
- 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.
Today’s reading will be Psalm 119:113-128:
ס Samekh
113 I hate double-minded people,
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God,
according to your promise,
and I will live;
do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your laws.
ע Ayin
121 I have done what is righteous and just;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation,
looking for your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your love
and teach me your decrees.
125 I am your servant; give me discernment
that I may understand your statutes.
126 It is time for you to act, Lord;
your law is being broken.
127 Because I love your commands
more than gold, more than pure gold,
128 and because I consider all your precepts right,
I hate every wrong path.
There are a couple of things that stood out for me from these two sections of Psalm 119. The biggest one comes from the very first verse I read, verse 113.
113 I hate double-minded people, but I love your law.
I don’t know what I have thought double-minded meant before, but when I read the Enduring Word commentary on this section, these words struck me:
“Double-minded people are people who know about God but are not fully determined to worship and serve him only. They are those who want both God and the world. They want the benefits of true religion, but they want their sin too…. The Psalmist hates this double-mindedness; he also hates it in himself.” (James Montgomery Boice)
I hate this in myself, too. I’m guessing that you, like me, fully intend to worship and serve God only. You may even think that you do. But when we step back and look at the whole of our lives, we might see some idols that have crept in. Some things that have captured our attention and even our hearts in a way that has pulled us into double-mindedness.
This may be the great battle of our lives, in fact.
He follows this up with talking about God being his refuge and shield. I wonder if this isn’t a prayer, along with the words he uses later of “uphold me” and “sustain me.” A prayer that God would protect him from the things that distract him from his true purpose of worshiping and following after God.
This is my prayer today, too. Not only that God would protect our hearts and minds from things that come between us and Him, but that He would help us to keep our eyes fixed on that purpose. To not become distracted. As the Hebrews writer puts it:
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
-Hebrews 12:1-2
Let’s pray.
God, the wrestling between our flesh and our spirit is so real sometimes. The desire to want to run after you wholeheartedly can so easily be smothered by our fleshly desires. God, would you put blinders on us? That we would be able to run this race, unhindered by the things that seek to take us out. Help us to throw off all of those things that slow us down and hold us back. Sustain us and uphold us. You are our refuge and our shield and our strength. We praise You for who You are. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A printable/downloadable version of today's devo can be found here:
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