Righteousness God Devotional Bible Psalm 119

Hunger Pains

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course.  Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my whole life long, obedient response.  Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!  

Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.  Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way.  Affirm your promises to me—promises made to all who fear you.  Deflect the harsh words of my critics—but what you say is always so good.  See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways! (Psalm 119:33-40, MSG)

vs. 33 “God, Teach me lessons for learning…”

 
David shows us here that you never stop learning.  He was asking God to teach him more so that He would be able to stay on course for God.  May we stay pliable and willing to learn whatever God may want to teach us.  May we never come to think we have achieved enough or know enough, but may we always be willing to learn more from God.  He is full of wisdom for our lives.

vs. 34 “Give me insight so I can do what you tell me…”

 
It is one thing for God to teach us something, but quite another to take action on the things we are taught.  I pray for insight to follow God as He leads.  Only He can lead us on the path of True righteousness.  May we follow Him fully into the realm of righteousness which He has called us forward in!

vs. 35 “Guide me down the road of your commandments…”

 
David gazes down the path before him with fondness.  It’s so freeing to see that other people are walking in the Lord and delighting in His presence.  Yet it is another thing to take the steps forward on that path.  David was not asking God to carry him or to move him.  He was asking God to guide him.  May we long with deep desire to do the will of God and see how freeing it can be to live within His total presence.  May we move forward knowing that walking in the Lord is the best place to be.

vs. 36 “Give me a bent for your words of wisdom…”

 
David does not want to be caught up in anything but God’s Word.  He is asking God to bend his ear towards the Truth.  Maybe David felt in his heart that there was something he was bending towards before that wasn’t glorifying God.  I know that I can certainly say there are days, weeks, months when my ears, my life is bent on things that are not of God.  I’m so glad that God reminds us to turn back to Him.  His words of wisdom are what I want to hear, as only He can shine the Truth to light my path ahead.

vs. 37 “Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets…”

 
Our eyes can get us into a ton of trouble.  They see things and take us into different directions.  Yes, sometimes this means grabbing things of this world and placing them into our lives.  But sometimes it means lustfully looking at something, instead of keeping our eyes on God.  Our heart needs to remain pure and our eyes are a window to our heart.  Be careful what you let your eyes see, as your heart will become what you take in through your eyes.  May you seek purity and cleansing through Christ and God’s Word.  His Truth can invigorate you to stay on the path of righteousness.

vs. 38 “Affirm your promises to me…

 
David was asking God to assure him of the promises that have been made to him.  Sometimes we look for the same assurance. We can believe that God will come through on things He has promised us by looking back on His track record.  Has He never let you down?  I mean truly let you down!  Did He fall short somewhere?  Did God ever step off the throne?  No, God doesn’t step off the throne.

vs. 39 “Deflect the harsh words of my critics…”

 
It is always so hard to take the harsh words of those around us.  Many times we can handle someone saying a harsh word here or there, but when it comes to our character we become very upset.  This is how David felt.  David wanted to uphold the character of God and those around him were slandering it.  We too need to uphold God’s character.  We can handle the harsh words of our enemy by keeping our hearts pure and focused on the Lord.  May we stand firm in God and always reflect His image in a wonderful way!

vs. 40 “See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!”


Lord, this last verse sums up the whole passage for me.  May I hunger for Your counsel and seek Your wisdom daily.  Please preserve my life and help me to live righteously before You.  Only You know the desires of my heart and I pray that each day You will help me make wise decisions that glorify You.  May I be someone who represents the King and always desires to bring people with me into Your sweet presence!

Hunger Pains for Righteousness,
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