How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek You; do not let me stray from Your commands. I treasure Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your decrees. With my lips I declare all the laws that come from Your mouth. I delight in the way of Your decrees as one delights in great riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not neglect Your word. (Psalm 119: 9-16)
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Today's passage is so rich.
And it begins with a simple, yet profound question: How can young people - students, young adults, dare I say, all children of God - keep their way pure?
But in order to understand and uncover the richness, you must truly desire the overall theme: authentic purity.
Sadly, our culture has limited and categorized this word as the "opposite of having sex - or doing sexual things - outside of marriage." And though the practice of abstinence is certainly a part of living in "purity," I believe that it extends far beyond sex.
You see, the "pure way" is much more all-encompassing.
This is because purity is an eternal way of life that crosses into all areas of life.
Let's put it this way: If you want a healthy and clean lifestyle, then you desire a pure life. If you want a marriage (maybe in the future) that is both beneficial and good, then you desire a pure life. If you want people to believe your words and trust your actions, then you desire a pure life. And if you want to be a friend who is genuinely loving and caring, then you - once again - desire a pure life.
If that "way" is what you want, then this passage has some rich challenges for you to take hold of:
{1. A pure life possesses inward treasure.} "With my whole heart I seek You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. I treasure Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You." (v. 10-11)
Let me ask you: What do you "treasure" in your heart? What do you store up? What do you gather and collect inside? What do you let lurk inside? What is hidden deep?
I ask this because: What you let lurk inside is what you value. And what you value determines how you live.
With that said, to live purely is to possess His words; to possess them so deeply that they are stored up throughout the caverns of your heart, hidden in the depths of your being.
So let Him "in" today.
{2. A pure life professes outward speech.} "Teach me Your decrees. With my lips I declare all the laws that come from Your mouth." (v. 12-13)
To put it plainly, purity does not remain inward. In fact, I will never experience the blessing of purity without letting the "inward treasure" flow outward in my speech.
His words should shape our words.
Ask yourself these things: What would it be like to start speaking like God speaks? What would it be like to start forgiving as God forgives? What would it be like to start encouraging as God's word encourages? And what would it be like to teach, call out, and disciple like God's Spirit teaches, calls out, and disciples?
This is the "pure way" that is set before us. Our inward treasure should bring about outward speech. If not, then something needs to change.
So let Him "out" today.
{3. A pure life perceives with fixed eyes.} "I will meditate on Your precepts, and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not neglect Your word." (v. 15-16)
I love this idea of "fixing my eyes" on God's ways; gazing at them; considering them always.
In fact, when you look at the Hebrew words used, they talk about viewing life through a particular perception. It is as if a pure life places glasses over our eyes to begin seeing the world clearly, decisively, and correctly.
And with this new perception, we delight in God because we see Him moving. We detect His Will because we see it correctly. And we say "no" to sin because we see it clearly as it is.
So let's "see through" Him today.
May we take these words and live them. We would love to know... what do you need to focus on today? Letting Him "in," speaking Him "out," or "seeing through" Him? Feel free to answer in today's Instagram post! Instagram.com/DeclareGlory
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
