Psalm 119:73-74 NLT
You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. That is not an accident. The Spirit gave more space to reverence for God’s Word than to any other single theme. If you want the key to successful living, start there. Many believe that the key to successful living involves building your life on the wisdom found in Scripture.
Successful living in Scripture is not a bigger platform, a safer bank account, or a life without trouble. It is a life that hopes in God’s Word, follows His commands, and becomes a cause for joy to those who fear Him.
The Word Tells Us How to Love God and People
The Bible is the only place we receive trustworthy instruction for our relationship with God and our relationship with others.
Matthew 22:36-40 NLT
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
When we read the Word from that angle, the world around us changes. We stop measuring success by what we get and start measuring it by whether we love God first and love people as Scripture defines love.
That is corrective, and it needs to be said: a life full of activity, opinion, and even ministry is not successful if it will not submit to these two commands.
Do Not Wait Until You “Understand It”
I hear many people say the Bible is hard to read because they do not understand it.
I remember a time about fifty years ago when I did not even know how to read, let alone read the Bible. Teachers kept teaching. I kept learning. Slowly I learned how to read.
The same principle applies to Scripture. You do not wait for mastery before you open the book. You open the book, and the Lord trains you.
If you belong to Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you. He gives the understanding you need when you need it. I am still amazed when a verse I have read many times suddenly stands up off the page. I wonder why I missed it before. The honest answer is usually this: my heart was not ready.
When that happens, I cannot stop talking or writing about it. Speaking the Word back out is one way God deepens our grasp of it.
Seek the Kingdom First
Matthew 6:33 NLT
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
The only sure place to learn what the Kingdom of God is—and what it requires—is the Bible. If we seek comfort first, we will call that success and miss the Kingdom. If we seek the Kingdom first, God knows how to supply what we actually need.
Psalm 63:1 NLT
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
A Christian’s hunger for the Word should look like hunger for food and water. I could skip a meal. I cannot afford to skip the reading.
Remain in Christ by Remaining in His Word
John 15:4-6 NLT
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”
We remain in Jesus Christ by remaining in His Word. Apart from Him we can do nothing. That is not poetry. It is a warning. A branch that will not stay connected does not become independent. It withers.
So the key to successful living is not hidden. Ask the God who made you for the sense to follow His commands. Put your hope in His Word. Love Him. Love your neighbor. Seek His Kingdom first. Stay in the Vine.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. It is the place I learn to know You and to see the people around me rightly.
Let Your Word keep shaping my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions. Let those attitudes, thoughts, and actions glorify You.
Thank You for the people You have put in my life. Give me a heart of compassion and unfailing love for those in need.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
