C'est votre vie

Recently I was reading a passage that seemed to literally jump out at me. Remember when Moses was taking leave of his people, he recited a song of the Lord to them, and then he said, “Take to heart all the words that I command you today to command your children, that they may observe and do all the words of this law. For it is not a small thing for you; it is your life, and by it you will prolong your days in the land which you will pass over the Jordan to possess.” What words, the words that God had given to organize their lives.

Let's imagine the scene. Moses was a father, mother, leader, prophet, and source of encouragement to this people. To his great sorrow, he was forced to leave them before the full accomplishment of God's plan. This weighed on him; he was concerned about the future of the people, a people who, even in his presence, had committed enormous crimes. So he spoke to them, warned them, gave them advice, and encouraged them to continue their walk with God. He thus gave them what could be called the key to success, allowing them to obtain all of God's promises. And this key was the word of God. He told them, in short:

Take these things to heart
Teach your children to follow God's Word
Scripture is not an unimportant thing, it is your life
By the Word of God you will have long life and success

So Moses understood that it is the Word of God that shapes, transforms, and brings fulfillment and success into our lives. And when Joshua replaced him, God told him the same. And when Jesus was on earth, He told us the same, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”. Indeed, this is the universal testimony of the Scriptures, namely, that the becoming of the Word of God in our lives determines the becoming of our lives. Logic would therefore dictate that our attention be directed above all and our time invested above all in saturating ourselves with the Word of God, because it is our life.

Most Christians would hardly disagree with this. Yet, paradoxically, many, including leaders, do not go further. God will make me a happy pastor if I can see as the fruit of my ministry men and women who hold the Word of God precious and make it a priority in their lives. These people will be powerful before men and before God. Without this, many go around in circles. Moreover, one cannot take refuge in prayer alone because knowledge of the Word is necessary to pray well. Understanding the person of our Interlocutor, knowledge of His ways, and the faith and perseverance required to stand firm amidst contrary winds, come from the Word of God.

So we embarked on our week of prayer from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m., spending the first two days praying prayers of dedication, both personal and for the church; and on Wednesday we prayed Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is a most wonderful psalm that brings together dedication to God, an extraordinary love for God's Word, and a commitment to meditate on, cherish, honor, bathe in, assimilate, and obey God's Word. On Thursday, we will pray the psalm over the whole church. Our desire is that all may say, as the psalmist did,

“I rejoice more in following your precepts than in possessing all treasures (…) I find great pleasure in what you prescribe and I will never forget your word.” (Psalm 119:14,16) (The Sower Bible)

Or else, "Oh! how I love your Law! I meditate on it all day long," without fearing to pass for outright fabulists before God.

I encourage you to read this psalm and pray it over your own life, knowing that all that we are and all that we will become good in God begins and ends in His Word. Moreover, the psalmist had to ask the question "How, when one is young, can one have a pure life?" (And you will agree that this is true for all ages). Obviously, it is not a question of becoming addicted to Christian conferences and dependent on prayer lines, as is unfortunately often the case in our generation. Many follow this pattern for many years, thus substituting serious meditation on the Word and prayer, wandering from conference to conference. Years later, they continue to go around the same mountain, experiencing moments of excitement here and there, but the deep and permanent transformation continues to be lacking.

So how do we do it? The psalmist's answer is, "By keeping your word." Remember the article about investing our time? "What we do with our time says a lot about who we are and what we will succeed in becoming." There is no better investment than dwelling in His Word and at His feet, communing with Him and being taught by Him. In fact, I am convinced that there is nothing a person can do that is more or even as valuable as the task of discovering, knowing, and honoring (in His Word and in prayer) the One from whom they receive their existence, life, and strength. After all, it is your life.