One of my more foolish mistakes in life is to plan as if life was going to be perfect. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have perfect days. A healthy plan and approach to life has to include the challenges and distractions. So far in reading Psalm 119, things have been going well. God is blessing. God’s Word is giving purity. But doesn’t that sound a bit too good to be true?
It’s in this third section of Psalm 119 that we encounter serious trouble. Life is difficult, and any approach to life has to meet those difficulties squarely. So, how would God’s Word have us to deal with life’s imperfections?
For one, there’s prayer. The Psalmist pleads for God to help, and in no small way. Verse 17 asks God to deal bountifully that I may live and keep your word. In all points of life, easy or hard, you must turn to God and ask for His help and favor.
Another way of handling difficulties is focus. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, even when that becomes difficult. So, even though the Psalmist feels alone, he says in verse 19 that he doesn’t want God’s commandments hidden from him. Even though powerful people plan and conspire against the Psalmist, he says in verse 23 that he will continue to meditate on God’s Word.
But a focus on God’s Word isn’t just about getting distracted. Rather, the Psalmist has come to find the counsel and advice in the Bible. Verse 24 says that the reason for delight in God’s truths is because they are my counselors.
Life isn’t perfect, but God’s Word is. The best way forward in difficult times is the same way forward in easy times: read God’s Word, meditate on God’s Word, obey God’s Word.