When Did You Last Apply?

The verses I want to share with you today was taken from chapter 33 in the book of Psalms.

Last week, we meditated on the Word in Psalm 31, through which we caught a glimpse of David’s struggles when he was being pursued by his enemies, and how he communicated all these to God.

What a blessing it is to know that the God we serve is not just a god — distant, supreme, and all-powerful that we, as His people, cannot directly commune with him and make our petitions (or like in the case of David, our complaints and groanings be known). He is a Father to us who cares about what we think and how we feel amid our circumstances, and at the same time, knows and does what’s best for us.

This short contemplation of God’s treatment of His children brings me to verses 4 and 5 of chapter 33. In one of the sharings we’ve had in the past, I remember that in one of my arrows (application of the word), I said that having faith in God requires us to apply ourselves to His will, even if His will may not be explicitly revealed to us at the time. It’s like saying, “Jesus, take the wheel. You drive, and I’ll just sit in the back and see where this will take me.”

Of course, this is not to say that we can treat Jesus like our chaperone, who will take us to wherever we want to go, which, unfortunately, is the case most of the time, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

So going back to verses 4 and 5, the passage tells us that it’s actually the other way around. If we recognize who and what Jesus is to all of us, we would certainly acknowledge the authority of His Will — through the Bible.

The thing with the Bible is it’s not just some kind of a book that aims to bring its readers scholarly wisdom. In fact, the wisdom that the Bible teaches us from beginning to end is the value of obedience, submission, and application.

In verse 4, the psalmist tells us that the word of the Lord is right and true. And that the God we serve is “faithful in all He does.” What a strong affirmation of the kind of faith we must place on Christ!

But what stuck to me more was the following verse which said: “The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” These are two things that amaze me. That (1) God in His complete holiness (2) chose to love the earth (us, sinners). And it’s not just some kind of cute, in-the-moment kind of love — but we, later on, find out that it’s the kind of love that would even entail the sacrifice of His Son. What mercy this is!

And how do we respond? Like David, let us continue to nurture our relationship with God by communicating with Him like a father. And like the early Christians, who are the models of our faith, be consistent in our attitude to obey first before we ask God’s doing in our lives.