DAILY GUIDE DEVOTIONAL: "Tutored by God"

 Text: Psalms 119:49-72

Psalm 119 is such a heart warming psalm to a believer. Anyone who is suffering derision in the hands of oppressors can easily find comfort and courage to keep on standing firmly in God's word without giving up. 

Behold how verse 49 opened "remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope". The Psalmist calls upon God to remember his word in which he (God) has caused him to hope. This is a wonderful assertion...it confirms what we already know but are sometimes careless to uphold. It is in the words of the lord that our hope and faith is built. Everything we know, or believe and ever hoped for is because the word of God promised it. It is the promises in his word that comforts and quickens us in our affliction (verse 50). 

Read also: " Humble and Contrite Spirit"

If there is no word of God, where could we have received courage from; where could we have found strength to continue living? When evil people afflict us we remember that God is just. When they deny our rights and trample on them we do not retaliate nor relent in doing good because the word of God has assured us that God is a rewarder of those who continue in doing good. No wonder he said in verse53_ horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked". Indeed, when evil men start, there is always horror on every side because of their threats, but our assurance of safety lies in keeping the precepts of our God. This is the security of a child of God. When we keep God's commands, he builds a wall of protection around us against every attacks of the enemy, but when we neglect his laws, we break the hedge and the serpent  bites us. 

"You are my portion, I have said I will keep thy word" (verse 57). The lord made this promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:1-2 "I am your shield and your exceeding great reward" but Abram threw it back at him by asking; "what will you give me seeing that I go childless...?" We also like Abram usually do not see God as our portion. We only focus on those earthly needs of the moment. We want God to give us those things immediately and often many believers throw away the precepts of God in their pursuit of these earthly needs. We miss out on God's greater and wondrous eternal plan for our lives. We must endeavour to establish it in our hearts that God is our portion here on earth and in the life to come. If we do not put him in the forefront of our eyes as our hope, inheritance and of prior value, then we can never see him as our inheritance, nor our portion. Neither can we establish the kind of relationship he desires to have with us. 

Before I was afflicted, I went astray"  (verse 67).  Many believers have suffered unnecessarily, because they strayed from the word of God. Even in hardship, denials, afflictions, We do not suffer if we are in right standing with God, because our Joy, the joy of the lord which is rooted in our relationship with him is not hampered. It remains our strength.  And verse 71 concludes it "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statues". If we can relate with our sufferings in this manner then we are victorious. May we learn that every opportunity we have, every experience, every situation; good or bad can be turned around for good if we can trust God with them. There is no ugly experience of our lives that God cannot turn around when we turn them to him him and live our Lives according to his own direction. The laws of God is far better than priceless jewels. Silver and gold will perish eventually, but the word of God lasts forever and so does anyone who allows it to form the basic foundation of his life.