Psalm 119:32 I run in the path of your commands for you have
set my heart free.
I am not a
runner. It is a serious desire of mine to be one, but there are physical reasons
for why I cannot. I have to tell you, though, when I have a dream about being a
runner, I feel this exhilaration that can’t be described. Then I wake up and
it’s, bleh, when I realize it was all just a dream.
The verse I
quoted at the beginning is an interesting one. First of all it’s tucked away in
the longest psalm in the Bible—Psalm 119.
Psalm 119 is a tough one—lots of talk
about rules, commands, laws, decrees, statutes. Not that any of those things
are bad but the author of this psalm seems to be struggling with the same thing
I do, wanting to do the right thing all the time and failing miserably.
Admittedly,
in the past I haven’t cared too much for Psalm 119. That’s because when I think
about the laws of God, I feel so guilty. I can’t measure up to God’s standards
and I know it. So Psalm 119 just pretty much depresses me.
But in the
midst of some of the psalmist’s strongest pleas, ‘I long for your commands’, ‘[I]
put my hope in your word,’ ‘your law is my delight,’ there is this one little
verse tucked neatly inside:
Psalm 119:32 I run in the
path of your commands for you have set my heart free.
Are you as
amazed as I was to find this gem in the midst of a psalm that focuses so much
on God’s commands and decrees and obedience to them?
Shortly
after I came upon this verse, it became the quiet prayer of my heart, ‘God, I want to run in the path of your commands, not
stumble, not walk, not limp, I want to run.’ Over time I kept praying and
praying it. The problem was, I didn’t know how to get there. How does one run
in the path of God’s commands?
And this is
what occurred to me a few days ago; I am the one keeping myself from running.
God isn’t. Instead of slowing down because I’m afraid I’ll mess up, God is
waiting for me to take off fearlessly and run the race with all my heart.
It’s not my
job to keep myself on the right path. That’s God’s job. And if God does his job
as well as I believe he does then I need to trust that, as any good coach would,
he has prepared me for this race.
Sanctification.
We don’t talk about it enough in the Christian Church. The Holy Spirit, yea, we
tend to set him aside forgetting that it is through his power
that we are equipped to run the best race ever.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
You see it’s not so much about me in this race—whether or not I do the right thing every time, consistently walking the narrow way. God is my sanctifier; the God of peace wants me to run a good race. Mostly, I think he just wants me to run.
And when I do go astray, God’s not surprised, he’s not caught off guard. No, he just picks me up and continues to teach me to stay on his path, even when I’m in full sprint mode. What’s more, when I do stray God’s there to guide me back.
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a
voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk [even run] in it.”
God is for me, what do I have to fear? Starting today, I’m
going to do something I never thought I could, I’m going to run—the best race
of my life. Because I’ve finally learned to get out of my own way.
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