“I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow Your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey Your commands.”-Psalm 119:59-60

Often times, as a new year begins, it leads to reflection. We may find ourselves looking back over the previous year, reflecting on various things connected to our families, jobs, school, and spiritual life...It’s common to consider the year ahead too, thinking about what’s to come, goals to strive for, upcoming activities, etc. I like the fact that the ending of one year and moving forward into the next one can spur on contemplation. That’s a good thing!

For the Psalmist, as he thought on his life and God’s Word, it led him to consider the course of his life and to ponder the direction he was going. Truly, seriously meditating on The Word and accepting it is a powerful, life-altering thing. For the Psalmist, the pondering ultimately led to a decisive decision. He chose his direction! What did he decide? Let’s reread Psalm 119:59: “I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow Your laws.” Isn’t that great?! He thought about it. He took time to consider things. And then he chose what to do. It makes me wonder: how many actually take time to ponder life and genuinealy think about what’s important? Sadly, I believe too few do take the time to do so. I agree with Charles Bridges when he wrote: “How many, on the other hand, seem to pass through the world into eternity without a serious thought on their ways! Multitudes live for the world — forget God and die! This is their history.” But this wasn’t the case for the Psalminst.

Not only did the Psalmist ponder his life’s direction and turn to follow God’s laws, but Psalm 119:60 tells us he was also determined: “I will hurry, without delay, to obey Your commands.” What an inspiring choice! When reflecting on this passage, Charles Spurgeon made this excellent point: “Speed in repentance and speed in obedience are two excellent things. We are too often in haste to sin; O that we may be in a greater hurry to obey.” How true are those words! Let’s learn a lesson from this passage.

This life is short. Eternity is really, really long. It is ever wise to contemplate our life’s aim, turn to God (who is over us and over everything), and surrender to Him and His ways. Let’s hurry to follow Him and His Word!

Cheer up, friends!

-Scott