My word is there for you

Have you ever had to read a page-long text and felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume? Did you start to skim some passages after just a few paragraphs instead of studying every word in detail? You may feel the same way when you read Psalm 119. It is both the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119 celebrates the Word of God because it is the perfect counsellor for our lives. God speaks life into our circumstances through his word, he brings light into our darkest moments and he gives us hope and comfort when we feel lonely and abandoned.

But as with any long text, it can happen with Psalm 119 that your thoughts begin to wander. You actually want to concentrate on every single word, but you are tired and just skim the text. Everyone probably knows moments when we find it difficult to concentrate on a text, no matter which text. But God doesn't want us to read the Bible out of a sense of duty. He wants us to read the Bible because He can speak directly to us through His Word and His Word is a sharp sword for our daily battles.

You can use this sword, for example, by memorising Bible verses that the Holy Spirit puts on your heart. Reading the Bible doesn't mean you have to read several chapters every day. Some days you might get stuck on one verse and think about it all day. That's absolutely fine, the Holy Spirit speaks in different ways. But whether it's one verse or a whole book, you can apply what you've read to your everyday life. And the more you wholeheartedly internalise what you read, the more you act on it. This is how God guides you through his word from Bible verse to Bible verse. In this way, living by the letter of the law will increasingly change from lip service to a life in and through Jesus, who fulfils the law for you.

Next Step: Let the Holy Spirit show you which verse of Psalm 119 he puts on your heart in particular and ask him what this verse means for your life.