MAY 13, 2015
The Riches Of
Obedience
I
have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. —Psalm 119:14 nlt
Read:
Psalm
119:14,33-40
Publicly operated
lotteries exist in more than 100 countries. In a recent year, lottery ticket
sales totaled more than $85 billion in just the US and Canada, only part of the
total sales worldwide. The lure of huge jackpots has created a mindset among
many that all of life’s problems would be solved “if I won the lottery.”
There’s nothing wrong
with wealth itself, but it has the power to deceive us into thinking that money
is the answer to all our needs. The psalmist, expressing a different point of
view, wrote: “I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. . . . I will delight
in your decrees and not forget your word” (Ps. 119:14,16 nlt). This concept of spiritual treasure is
focused on obedience to God and walking “in the path of [His] commandments”
(v.35).
What if we were more
excited about following the Lord’s Word than about winning a jackpot worth
millions? With the psalmist we might pray, “Incline my heart to Your
testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at
worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (vv.36-37).
The riches of
obedience—true riches—belong to all who walk with the Lord.
Dear Lord, may I
commit each day to standing on the unchanging truth of Your Word and to growing
in my relationship with You, the only measure of success in this life and in
eternity.
Success is knowing and
loving God.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Its 176 verses are presented in
22 stanzas of 8 verses each, and each stanza corresponds to the successive
letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Because it is an acrostic song, Spurgeon said
it could be called “the alphabet of love,” for it unfolds God’s loving
provision of wisdom for His children.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012