Day 22: Psalm 119

There is something ironic about God that we find joy from obedience, happiness through rules, and freedom in authority.

Doesn’t it seem like the opposite should be true? Doesn’t it seem like real freedom would be in our ability to do whatever we want? Yet, with God, we find freedom with Him not away from Him. God is a God who has established limitations, and through the limitations we flourish. Notice what the Psalmist says:

I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. Psalm 119:32

Isn’t that odd? We typically don’t think of the word free and the word command in the same sentence. This is what the Psalmist knows: God isn’t a God who wants something from you. He is a God who wants something for you. The more we find freedom in Him, the more joy we can experience. What boundary has God established that you keep bumping into? Money? Sex? Power? Time? The more we fight God’s established order, the more headaches we have. The Psalmist knows He is the author of life. If this quarantine is showing us anything, it is that we don’t like limitations. The human heart since the Garden of Eden has fought for independence from its Creator. Yet we know we are growing in wisdom and faith when we trust the goodness of God as a loving Father, who is keeping us from harm and danger. When it comes to God’s commands, do you run in them like David? If I am honest, there are many times I have run from them.

God’s words and way is often hard, but it promises us a joy on the other side of the trust. Do you trust what the Psalmist is inviting you to see? Freedom awaits when we trust.

Jared