A Look at Psalm 119:5
What is the Greatest Influence in Your Life?
Psalm 119:5 “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees!”
The word “decree” is the same as “statute.” A statute is an explicit law. David’s prayer was that his ways would be steadfast in obeying God’s explicit laws. To be steadfast is to be adamant, firm, or resolute. It means it has been settled. There is no wavering in obedience to God’s decrees.
We relate better to the apostle Paul in
Romans 7:15, where he writes,
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” The average Christian wants to be steadfast in their obedience to God but faces this constant conflict. Paul summed up his thoughts with this,
“Thanks be to GOD – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” Romans 7:25.
The battle for obedience is real friends, and it is won or lost in the mind. If Paul had become a slave to the law of God in his mind, then he ultimately won the battle regardless of the struggle he may still have faced with his flesh.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
When we meditate on the Word of God (hide it in our heart), we begin to renew our mind. When the mind is renewed, the flesh becomes subject to it. If we fail to take on the mind of Christ, our flesh continues to control our thought and actions.
How much time do you spend meditating on God’s Word? Consider what is the greatest influence in your life: whatever you spend the most time doing influences you the most. Do you spend more time in front of the television or on social media or on your phone than you do in prayer and the Word? If so, it stands to reason that you cannot get victory over flesh problems.
Let me encourage you to take some time to meditate on this verse, and as you do: ask God to help you become steadfast in your obedience to Him.
Continued
