A Look at Psalm 119:34

Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.”
 

The greatest understanding we can attain is knowing that we can trust God even though we cannot fully understand Him. We learn this from scriptures like Proverbs 3:5, where we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We must realize there is a vast difference between our understanding and God’s. When we consider the incomprehensible qualities of God, including His unfailing love, we begin to realize that God understands from a perspective we simply do not have and will never have. 

Mrs. Albert Einstein was once asked to explain her husband’s “Theory of Relativity.” After pondering the question for a moment, she stated, “I cannot explain his theory at all, but I know Albert, and he can be trusted.” In a similar way, the parent–child relationship requires the same development of trust over time. There are times when a parent will ask a young child to simply obey them. The child may reply, “I don’t understand why I should obey.” The parent responds with, “You don’t need to understand, you just need to obey!”
 

There are some things parents cannot explain to their children and children cannot understand because they lack the experience and maturity of the parent. However, if a child will simply trust, and obey, it will work to their benefit. The songwriter had it right when he wrote, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” 
 

Take some time to meditate on this verse. As you do: consider whether you trust God’s understanding and simply obey, or whether you require Him to first explain according to your understanding before you obey.

Continued