January 29, 2020 -- Psalm 119:101 -- Restraining ourselves from every evil path
/I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
Psalm 119:101 English Standard Version
What the psalmist is declaring is his on-going intention to live in the path of peace. In the New Testament we read:
If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation,
the old has passed away, behold, the new has come’
II Corinthians 5:17 English Standard Version
Though we are new in Christ, we still have the old patterns of behavior. The psalmist is restraining his feet from going along the evil pathways. He is recognizing the insistent pull of wickedness. Evil is all around. The invitation to sin is a constant siren sound that beckons the heart and mind. The devil seeks to wear us down with his repetitive, persistent calls to sin. Our own lusts and patterns can betray us and draw us into sin.
What can break this?
The word of God can help us restrain our feet from evil—we are taught right from wrong. The world will not capable of determining what is good because the world is in rebellion against the Living God.
The Spirit of God applies the word to our hearts and minds and keeps us from sin. Pray for the strength of the Spirit to keep our feet from going in the direction of evil.
The love of God constrains us—so 119:64 teaches us. Because we are surrounded by the love of God we are drawn away from the world, from the lusts of the flesh and the temptations of the enemy and we are drawn to Him Who loves us.
May God our King move us by His love to forsake our sin. May the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ—His bearing the punishment of God against sin in His body—humble us and direct us in an out-pouring of dedicated love. May the Spirit of God help us, poor, oft-sinning creatures though we are, to return to God again and again in true repentance from our sin and direct our feet in obedience to the will of and Word of God.
High King of Heaven You are the Ruler of the Cosmos, the Guardian of all that is just and good. Spirit of the Living God, break down the strongholds of sin and cast out every idol that sets itself up against the reign of Christ in our hearts. Renew in us the wonder of this great gift of salvation. Fill us with Your love so that it brims to overflowing in us in order that obedience to our Lord will continually restrain our feet from every evil path. Amen.
