What limits are we living by?


If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came.  But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words.  Save me! I'm all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me, but I'm only concerned with your plans for me. I see the limits to everything human, 
      but the horizons can't contain your commands!
(Psalm 119:92-96 The Message)

As we have studied this psalm, we have seen David repeatedly turn our attention to the "keeping" power of God's Word.  It is a stalwart in hard times.  It stands the test and keeps on ticking!  He starts with the statement, "If your teachings had not delighted me..."  Here is the crux of the "keeping" power of God's Word - - it is in the "delight" we take in it.  How we treat God's Word determines how much it will impact our lives.  

Does it delight us like nothing else?  When we delight in something, it gives us intense joy and almost brings us to a place of satisfaction like nothing else can.  For some of us, chocolate is our favorite candy.  That endorphin rush that is released when we consume that milky rich sweetness just lulls us into a place of "endorphin rapture".  Now, here's the question:  What "rush" does God's Word give us?  The intensity of our pleasure in his Word is often a direct result of the calamity of our circumstances without his speaking into them!  

Does God's Word come to us as the "advice" we hold onto when hard times come?  We have many avenues of advice in our lives, but none should be "louder" than the Word of God.  Advice is something taken that guides our actions.  What has been guiding your actions lately?  You probably will be able to answer that by the outcome of your actions!

Is the Word of God something we see "worthy" of our attention?  David says he looks high and low for God's wisdom.  He has done "his best" to know God's instructions - - now he counts on God to do the rest.  This is all we can hope for in times of need.  When we do our part - - obedient to what God reveals - - he is right alongside doing his part!

Are the plans of God our only concern?  Some of us have plans of our own that we attempt to "weave" God's plans into.  We want to make God "fit" our purposes instead of the other way around.  It is curious to see how many times we "plan" life only to see how miserably we fail to end as we hoped when this is the method we utilize in our planning.  You'd think we'd learn our lesson the first time!  Alas, many of us don't!  Here's David's determination:  God's words make us wise!  If we want well-directed plans, perhaps we should consider God's words a little closer in our planning.

Do we know our limits?  This is the question David really is setting out for us in this passage.  He reminds us that EVERYTHING has its limits - - except God's Word!  No words are as powerful.  No words are as illuminating.  No words are as convicting.  When we do our best to know his Word, we are allowing him to do his best in establishing HIS limits in our lives.  Oftentimes, those "limits" are really farther than we'd believe possible on our own!

May your 2012 be filled with a new appreciation for the limitlessness of God's Word!  Blessings!

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