Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Psalm 119:97 (NIV)
We often start sentences with, “You make me feel,” but someone can’t actually make you feel a certain way. Ultimately, it’s our own decisions that determine how we feel.
Someone could bug me, harass me, lie about me, betray me, blog about me, and do all sorts of nasty things to me. If they do, I’m probably going to feel something, but then I have a tough choice to make. Will I focus on what they’ve done to me? Or will I choose to forgive and move on? If I choose to forgive and move on, the feeling will pass.
The more I focus on the hurtful behaviour, the more upset I’ll get. But the opposite is also true. The more I focus on good things—the good that’s been done to me and the promises God has made to me in his Word—the better I’ll feel!
According to today’s verse, David spent a lot of time studying God’s Word and thinking about God. Although David wasn’t perfect, he came to know God in a personal way. God’s thoughts and beliefs became David’s, and he became known as a man after God’s own heart.
The same can be said of you! You can meditate on God’s Word and have it change the deepest beliefs of your heart.
If you’re struggling in any area, start there. If you can’t seem to shake an anxious feeling, start by meditating on Psalm 16:11, which says that fullness of joy is found in God’s presence, and John 15:11 and John 17:13, which say that your joy can be made full.
Change how you feel by getting God’s Word into your mind and your heart!