PANTING FOR GOD’S PRECEPTS

“I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR PRECEPTS, for by them You have given me life” – Psalm 119: 93

Panting for Perfection is PANTING for GOD’S PRECEPTS: “I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR PRECEPTS, for by them You have given me life” (Psa.119:93). It is not enough to stay away from the junk food; we must crave things that edify. Three qualities of God we must crave if we are to manifest His perfection are: His Precepts, Purity, and Presence.

We must crave God’s precepts: “If you abide in MY WORD, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jh.8: 31b-32). We cannot be fully devoted Disciples of Christ without spending TIME with God through His Word. The Bible is God’s means for our spiritual growth: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet.2:2).

God’s law, commandments, testimonies, precepts, Word, and judgements are one and the same. Panting after His precepts makes us wiser than our enemies; gives us more understanding than our teachers and the ancients; and guides and guards our feet from every evil way (Psa.119: 97-102). His Words were sweeter than honey: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v.103). The proof of our craving is that we schedule and spend TIME therein – turn off the TV or radio, put down the magazines, switch of the computer and phone, and get into His Word! We need to spend regular time reading, hearing, and meditating in, memorizing, and obeying God’s precepts.

Reading the Word: Regular reading of Scriptures is the way to having the Christian mind. We cannot be profoundly influenced by what we do not know. When we are filled with God's Word, all facets of our lives can then be informed and directed by God – our relationships, parenting, career, choices, and decisions.

Hearing the Word: We can read the Bible and listen to sermons, but we must have an eagerness to truly hear what God is saying to us – “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (Jam.1:19). To be swift to hear means to be eager to learn from God and get to know Him through His Word. The Bible often says, “He who has an ear, let him hear…” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6).

Meditating on God’s Word: helps us to become like Christ. We become what we think about: “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation” (vv.:97, 99). Bible Meditation is not some New Age practice, yoga or trying to empty one’s mind. Meditation is literally muttering the Word of God – taking a passage or verse and repeating it with our mouth or in our mind. It changes how we think and live.                             

Memorizing God’s Word: We can memorize whatever we focus on – names, phone numbers, e-mail or website addresses, sports statistics, and song lyrics. Memorizing God’s Word will keep us close and clean: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psa.119:11). The Holy Spirit will bring the words hidden in our hearts to remembrance when we need them. Sin will keep you from the Bible, but the Bible will keep you from sin! It’s your choice!

Obeying God’s Word: We cannot fake God out. He is under no obligation to reveal His truth to us if we are unwilling to obey it: “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (Jam.1:22, New Living Translation). The mirror of God’s Word will show us where we need to grow and improve. Then we’re under divine obligation to do something about what we’ve learned – to obey what we know and have understood! The hymn says: Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!

Let’s pant for God’s precepts!