The Two Ways

Psalm 119:29-30

There are two ways described in this Psalm, the longest Psalm being the product of someone's prayer journal back in ancient Hebrew times. In this Psalm, two ways are being described for us: the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness, and the second way of truth and faithfulness. We are given a choice regarding which way we are going to walk down and there are many warnings in Proverbs about choosing to turn aside from the right path. In these two verses, we learn something significant about the Psalmist who is praying these words. 

First, he asks God to remove from him the way of falsehood. He wants to be completely honest with God about his actions, his attitude and his emotions. It's easy to pretend that nothing is wrong when we are among people but God sees through our superficiality and He already knows what you need before you even think it. Not only is a believer given the power through the Holy Spirit to choose between these two paths (since the sinful nature is obviously going to choose lying to save your skin - or make you think that way at least), the believer is given a tremendous blessing. We can have this way of falsehood completely removed from our lives when God graciously imparts to us His laws. And that is the reason why reading the Bible and meditating on the Word is so important. If there is no input of the Word, there is no weapon to come against the opposition of the evil one when he attacks. Without the cleansing power of the Word, there is no refinement or purification of the heart. Since the heart is deceitful above all things, it becomes incredibly easy for our own hearts to deceive us when we deviate from the right way. This is why the Psalmist describes this first way as the way of 'unfaithfulness' to God. 

Second, the Psalmist tells us that he has chosen the way of truth. Truth is not relative or subjective. For a believer in Jesus, truth is found in the inspired Word of God. We need revealed knowledge from the Holy Spirit. This is the challenge we are given. It's similar to starting anything new for the first time. At the beginning, it's the excitement that makes you want to continue - be it learning a new skill, writing a book or the new year's resolution. Then, time passes or you reach the middle section of the course and it starts to drag out longer than you expected it to, the passion wanes, the interest dissipates. The Bible tells us that our walk with Jesus is the same. We are constantly surrounded by change, we change in our perspectives and our lifestyle. Will the faith I have now be the same when I'm nearly closing my eyes to meet with the Lord again? 

This is my prayer today. That I will be found faithful on the day when I see my Lord face to face, and have walked and persevered in my journey down the path of truth and faithfulness. 

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