Tuesday Truth:

This morning I read a meditation based on Psalm 199:114: “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.”

The writer made the good point that, when we run into trouble, it helps to already know scripture so God’s Spirit can bring to mind what we have learned. The devotion also referenced trials, destructive circumstances, and times of crisis.

I couldn’t agree more that it’s good to be prepared for difficulty and distress. But being filled up with God’s good word, and the practice of an ongoing active relationship with Jesus, is exactly where we need to be all of the time.

Faith isn’t just something we hold onto as a hedge against disaster. Jesus isn’t one of those “In case of emergency, break glass” standby Gods. We don’t study the Bible “just in case” we may need it someday…

Faith isn’t just something we hold onto as a hedge against disaster. Jesus isn’t one of those “In case of emergency, break glass” standby Gods. We don’t study the Bible “just in case” we may need it someday…

I need Jesus just as much this morning, secure inside my cozy home on a wet, windy day, as I did the day I pulled my little Datsun front of that huge truck, or the day a family crisis just about derailed us…

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee. – (Annie Hawks)

It’s true that we often leave faith out of the normal, run-of-the-mill stuff of life, consigning God to the shelf to gather dust until we are prompted by fear or anxiety. But that’s not the New and Living Way Jesus invites us to walk.

So I’ll finish this brief post by quoting the opening lines of that same Psalm, beautifully translated in the NLT:

Joyful are people of integrity,
    who follow the instructions of the Lord.
 Joyful are those who obey his laws
    and search for him with all their hearts.
 They do not compromise with evil,
    and they walk only in his paths.
 You have charged us
    to keep your commandments carefully.
 Oh, that my actions would consistently
    reflect your decrees!
 Then I will not be ashamed
    when I compare my life with your commands.
 As I learn your righteous regulations,
    I will thank you by living as I should!
 I will obey your decrees.
    Please don’t give up on me! – Psalm 119:1-8