“Great peace have they who love Your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” -Psalm 119:165

There is great peace for those who love God’s law (His Word) because they spend an enormous amount of time reading, meditating, studying, wrestling and praying over the Scriptures. The one who loves the Lord will dedicate time pursuing Him in His Word. The result of this discipline is peace and comfort, as we grow to understand eternal truths. The believer has already received the gift of salvation, learning through experience and the written Word that God truly does provide peace which passes all understanding. Knowledge and personal testimony reveal the link between loving God’s law and soul peace. 

But the Gospel is an offense and a stumbling block to those who do not believe. One of my favorite verses is 2 Timothy 1:12 which says, “Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” Christians do not stumble over the Good News as they once did before conversion. By faith, we know who is our Living Hope. Every child of God is now kept by Him, because He has opened our spiritually blind eyes, imparting faith and mercy. It is then by grace we grow in love toward Jesus our Savior and Friend. It is by grace we grow in wisdom, pursuing God through reading the Bible. 

Christian, pour over the pages of Scripture if your love for them is small. Discipline will blossom into delight with each passage, verse and command, pointing the weary heart to his Savior. Go to Jesus, for He is gentle and kind. He will provide rest for the burdened spirit. Great peace is found inside of God’s will, which looks like abiding with Jesus, in obeying His law. We do not stumble into sin when we are walking according to His commands. But when we take our eyes off of God and onto lesser things which cause us to stumble, may we be quick to recognize the danger and repent. God will bless the humble and contrite heart, bringing him into restored fellowship once again to enjoy a sweeter and deeper intimacy than before.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: 2 Timothy 1:12-14; 1 Peter 2:4-12