The writer of Psalm 119 treasured the Scriptures because they mapped a way for him into a full and purposeful life. The Scriptures alone, however, will not get us to where we need to go. The psalmist acknowledges this when he prays: “Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees.” The Christian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said: “Whatever is not taught by God is never really learned.” Unless God enlightens his Word to our hearts by his Holy Spirit, the words will always remain a set of remote abstract ideas. The words of the Bible must become a part of God’s real time conversation with us. Let God be your teacher, ask him to draw you into his tutelage; let his Holy Spirit lead you and guide you. He is a good teacher, and very patient. He will teach you if you are willing to learn. But God doesn’t teach abstractly. He speaks to you through real life experiences. So, if you want to be a good student of life under God, pay attention to what God is saying to you in every experience. Are you in a hard place? Don’t focus only on how to change that situation. Rather, ask God what he is saying to you through that situation. God will teach you through every circumstance. This doesn’t mean he is the cause of bad things that happen. Rather, he promises to work in all things for your good (Romans 8:28). And when a bad circumstance makes you wiser that is indeed a great outcome because “wisdom is supreme” (Proverbs 4:7).
Ask God to teach you to walk in his ways.
Read Psalm 119:33-40
