PROGRESS MUST BE OUR GOAL

GOD IS ALL I NEED!

Psalm 119:57-64

The LORD is my portion;

I promise to keep your words.

I entreat your favor with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to your promise.

When I think on my ways,

I turn my feet to your testimonies;

I hasten and do not delay

to keep your commandments.

Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

I do not forget your law.

At midnight I rise to praise you,

because of your righteous rules.

I am a companion of all who fear you,

of those who keep your precepts.

The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;

teach me your statutes!

The LORD is whom I have chosen. He is all I want, He is all I need, and He is the One I will follow! My portion is complete commitment to God.

In Psalm 16:5, David recognizes his total dependence on God:

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

        you hold my lot.

David knows that as he has given himself completely to God. He has intentionally aligned his ways to the One who holds everything in His hands, including every aspect of his life.

Lamentations 3:21-24

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

Jeremiah had learned to trust the LORD. He knew that God’s love is eternal and that He is merciful and faithful. Therefore he was confident in entrusting his life to the LORD.

The writer of this psalm knows that God will act according to His promises, and he has full trust in them. We humans can certainly be unfaithful, but God will always be faithful.

What an example he is for us, as he considers his ways and immediately follows the instructions found in the Word. I know that as I mature in Christ, my quickness to implement and follow the Scriptures should improve. As believers, our progress should be desired and visible. So many verses remind us that we should be growing spiritually.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

        Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 

As long as we are on earth, progress will be our goal. The writer is aware of all the obstacles; he knows that he lives in a world that is bent in a totally different direction. He has chosen carefully the people with whom he spends his time.

Psalm 119:63

I am a companion of all who fear you,

        of those who keep your precepts.

I have said it before, and I will repeat myself: every healthy believer is a member of a healthy local church. I am always stunned when some Christians say that their best friends are the unsaved. Every believer needs a healthy local church where the Word of God is taught, and where his gifts are developed and put into practice. Those believers, who desire to be faithful, realize that they cannot be, apart from the teaching of the Word and their involvement with other believers.

What a blessing it is to be involved in other believers’ lives, as we prepare to go out and live as lights in a godless world.

As we study the Word, we become more and more aware of God’s unending and caring love for us. Our hunger for the Word of God should grow continually.

May the progress in your spiritual life be visible, as you love and live around those whom God has placed in your life today!