Oh, How Do I Love God's Word? Let Me Count the Ways!

Psalm 119 is an amazing piece of Scripture. You can't read more than a few verses without seeing the pattern: This Psalm is ALL about God's word and what it produces in our lives. In the first 80 verses (that's just what I read this morning; 96 more to go!), I counted 77 references to God's word: "decrees," "word," "commandments," "instructions," "promise," "regulations," "commands," "laws." Now, I didn't excel in math when I was in school, but that's nearly one reference per verse!

Underlining and counting all of these was exciting for me in my reading this morning. Even more exciting was discovering all of the wonderful benefits and fruit that are produced in our lives as we read and keep God's word. Here's what I found:

1. Joy
2. Integrity
3. Thanksgiving/a thankful heart
4. Purity/wholeness
5. Increased ability to resist sin
6. Rejoicing
7. Delight
8. Satisfaction
9. Wisdom
10. Counsel
11. Life
12. Resurrection power
    
13. Encouragement
14. Understanding
15. Practical life skills
16. Happiness
17. Reassurance
18. Goodness
19. Hope
20. Freedom
21. Comfort
22. Songs (about all of these things!)
    
23. Steadfastness/Anchoredness (OK, I know that's not a word!)
24. Fellowship/belonging
25. Good judgment
26. Knowledge
27. Unity
28. In general, Good Things!

That was what I discovered in the first half of this Psalm! What a great reminder about the point of reading God's word and keeping His commands. It's not about getting in my 15, 30 or ___ minutes of devotional reading done every day. It IS about getting the living word into my being and my experience AND DOING WHAT IT SAYS as best I can SO THAT my life will begin to blossom and bear much fruit.

Jessie and I have a Meyer Lemon tree in a terra-cotta pot next to our front porch. Boy, are those citrus blossoms fragrant! (I want that more of that kind of sweetness in my life.) The tree itself isn't that impressive. What is impressive is the amount of fruit such a small tree is producing--so much that it can barely support the weight added to it! But as long as I keep picking those lemons, that tree will continue to flourish.

I want to have that kind of bountiful produce in my life--the kind that is in such abundance it needs to keep being picked. And so I pray, like David, Lord give me eagerness for Your word! And may it be more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.