^{PS 119:33} Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. ^{PS 119:34} Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.  ^{PS 119:35} Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.  ^{PS 119:36} Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.  ^{PS 119:37} Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

 

        In the prophet Jeremiah's writings we read this word from the Lord God.  "You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart," (Jeremiah 29:13).    Do you want to find God?  Do you long to know the creator and sustainer of the universe?  To thoroughly enjoy a drink, you need to be thirsty.  To find deep satisfaction in a meal, you need to be hungry. The longing has to be there if you are going to obtain a committed heart. 

        Still, obtaining such a treasure requires far more than we possess.  An intense yearning is important to God, but wanting something does not insure that you will acquire it.  An intense yearning motivates us to find resources that help us move in the direction we want to go. In the spiritual realm there is one ultimate resource.  We can gain assistance from other believers and from past writings of saints which have preceded us, but the ultimate resource is the Lord. The ancient song writer understood this.  He eloquently calls upon the resource of all resources to establish within him a committed heart.

        The psalmist doesn't want a defective faith that starts out on fire but eventually turns to ashes, (v. 33).   He asks the Lord to literally teach him how to follow his decrees.  If the work within us is of us, it will fade; but if it is of God it will flourish.  Dale Moody, a former professor at Southern Baptist Seminary, wrote "A faith that fizzles had a fatal flaw from the first."  We need the instruction of the divine teacher.

        Next, he asks for understanding.  What is understanding?  The answer is given to us in Job 28:28, "The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom,and to shun evil is understanding.' "   Another critical part of keeping God's law is developing a healthy deterrence to sin.  We need to keep a clear perspective about the wages of sin.  The wages of sin is death.  We are not thinking clearly when we indulge the sinful nature.  This type of indulgence is like the rat who enjoys the delicacy of cheese but fails to spot the arsenic that it is laced with.  A healthy avoidance of evil is a sure step to a committed heart.

        The third request the psalmists asks for is direction.  He wants to make sure he is traveling the Lord's road. It is a joy to take a trip that is surprise free.  I have had those long distance excursions where I missed a turn or chose the wrong route.  It is far more discouraging to take a wrong spiritual route. The best road is the one that God has designed.  When we attempt to travel any other highway we set ourselves up for a miserable journey.  A committed heart is one that carefully checks God's road map, the Bible, and proceeds along God's way.

        Fourth, the ancient song writer asks for sensitivity to God.  He knew that the inclination of his heart was selfish gain.  I am convinced that the majority of us are so consumed with ourselves that we don't even know it.  The thrust of our waking hours consists of questions like: how can I make more money?  how can I improve my health and appearance?  how can I improve my house, and my yard?  How can I make others like me more?  The psalmist doesn't want to be enslaved to this.  He begs God to turn his heart away from selfish gain and toward the statutes of the Lord. 

        The final appeal is one for preservation.  This has been the first year in a long time that we have been able to go to a pool without life preservers.  This equipment is great for the kid that doesn't know how to swim.  Not only does it ease the child's fears, but it helps mom and dad's nerves, too.  The word of God is a spiritual life preserver.  The commands and instructions preserved for us in the Bible provide us with secure protection against deep waters of temptation and the dangerous consequences of sin.  The psalmist was aware of the human condition and the magnetic appeal of the flesh.  Therefore, he implored God to turn his eyes away from worthless things.  How much of your life is devoted to worthless things? I encourage you to take the next few days and think about your life.   Do you feel as if you are frantically treading water?  Do you feel like your head is bobbing back and forth above and beneath the surface of the water?  If so, reach for the life preserver known as the word of God. Get out of the water and snugly attach the word.  The result will be a committed heart and a preserved life.