March 12 – Psalm 119:1-32

March 12 – Psalm 119:1-32

Lesson: He Illuminates

Dear Lord, bless our time with you today.  Meet us where we are at, guide our minds, and hold our hearts as we search for Your truth.

First, do your own quiet time with God and 4R journaling.  When you are complete, come back here for the lesson.

Request Gods’ help

Read Psalm 119:1-32 (If you have time, read all of this marvelous psalm!)

Record a verse that stands out to you

Respond to God

Today we took a slight detour to Psalms because I found that it just fits so perfectly with today’s ministry. And it’s a good reminder that the Old Testament is rich in information about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and walking in the ways of God. And the Psalms… they are just so supernatural and human at the same time. I know I chose a loooooong psalm, so I only “officially” assigned the first 32 verses. But honestly, if you can find the time, read it all and soak in the richness of this psalm devoted to calling us to read God’s Word.

Okay, on to illumination.  The Greek word for ‘reveal’ is ‘apokalyptō’ and it quite literally means to take off the cover, to disclose. (Strongs Dictionary).  This always reminds me of Matthew 11:25, “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.”  Jesus was so thankful to the Father that He disclosed His truths to those who would hear, accept and act on it.  That the truth was not given so that it could be cast to the wayside or sprinkled on ground not suitable for growing.  When the Holy Spirit illuminates a truth to you, He has chosen for you to see that truth. It’s not haphazard or willy nilly like, it’s deliberate and with purpose, intentionally intentional.

How do we get this illumination?  Have you been struggling with that?  Have you been seeking His truth, wanting His truth and yet… not finding it?  Psalm 119 lays out pretty clearly how we are to ready ourselves for His truth unveiling.  Let’s take a peek at it and maybe we can spot somewhere we need to refine within ourselves.

Verse 27: Meditate on His wonders

Verse 34: Keep His laws and obey them

Verse 125: Ask for understanding

Verse 144: Why do these things?  That we might live!!!

Now, let’s take a look at when this Psalmist meditated and/or praised our Lord.  Before dawn (v. 147), Seven times a day (v. 164), All day (v. 97), Nightly (vs. 55, 148), Midnight (v. 62).  So, every second of every day is accounted for here in Psalms 119.  That’s how often we should be meditating on His Word!

It’s all about the heart.  Like the little children of Matthew 11, our hearts must be ready to receive such a gift as truth.  We must be consumed by God, with Him being our whole focus.   When we read, meditate and study His word the Spirit will shine His light on the truth God wants to show us.  Is He showing us anything new, that has just come to be?  No!!!  His truth has always been there since the dawn of time. The Holy Spirit is simply (supernaturally) repeating what God has already said.  God in His infinite goodness reveals only what we can handle in that moment.  In His perfect wisdom He hand picks for us just the right truth.

Seasoned Jesus followers will say, ‘The Bible is living and breathing.’ Well ya, but it is also just a book full of a lot of words.  Unntiilllll, the Spirit shines His light on the truths within it and breathes the life of God into your heart.  Those truths just start jumping out of the pages!  Without that illumination… it’s just words.  Fifteen times the psalmist asks for understanding.  Are we doing that?  Satan is not afraid of Bible reading or devotion time, that isn’t first preceded by prayer.  We must be in receiving mode to see what God want us to see.  And that’s a reason why prayer/request is included in our 4R Method!  Because it’s sooo important!.  If you have been reading God’s word and it hasn’t ‘come alive’ yet as a Jesus follower promised you it would… pray differently!  Ask Him to show you, to give you understanding, to shine a light on what it is He wants to reveal to you.

You are not alone.  When in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you are in fellowship with the God of revelation and with the Jesus of Truth.  He travels the path with you whether it’s in deep valleys, atop rocky mountain peaks, in lush green grass or beside cool waters.  He is with you. He will light the way, shine light into your darkness, and warm you with His love.

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for You are the Light.  In You we find our way, all that we need, all that we could want.  We thank You for Your gift of the Holy Spirit who shines the light on Your truth.  May we honor You in all that we do, and not take Your gift lightly or for granted.

(Further reading:  1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Ephesians 1:17-18; John 16:12-15)

What’s next?

As the Spirit leads, in the comment section below, share what He has laid on your heart.

Then join us again tomorrow to learn about the ministry of calling to ministry.