It’s hard to live right in a world that’s going the wrong way. In this Sunday message from March 26, 2023, Pastor Linda Reese walked through a section of Psalm 119 (verses 113-136) about doing exactly that.

Choose your influences

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word” (Psalm 119:114, KJV). “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God” (119:115). If a friend who doesn’t know the Lord keeps trying to pull you their way, know what God wants and don’t let anyone lead you off His path.

That isn’t a holier-than-thou attitude. The psalmist begs, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe” (119:117). Pastor Linda said she’s no “higher up.” She just goes to the Lord and asks Him for understanding, and anyone can do that.

The road isn’t easy

If your Christian life feels perfectly smooth, check where you’re headed. Trouble and trials build faith, draw you closer to God and teach you to hear His voice. Her husband, Pastor David Reese, used to tell people to give God one year of their lives. After a year of reading His Word, praying and obeying, he said, you won’t be the same person, and you won’t want to go back.

Refined like gold

“Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross” (119:119). When gold is heated, the impurities rise and are skimmed off, and what’s left can be shaped without losing its shine. God uses the fire to shape us into people He can use to help others.

Listen for the quiet voice

“Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). A Christian’s agenda belongs to God. Pastor Linda told of a man who felt led to buy a gallon of milk on a snowy night and leave it at a stranger’s house. It was exactly what that mother needed for her children. She once felt God tell her to stop and give an older woman waiting in the cold a ride home, and she was glad she did.

The psalmist wept because God’s law wasn’t kept (119:136), and it hurts us too when people we love turn away. We can’t live right on our own. God gives us His Word, His mercy, His grace and His Spirit. Pray, listen and read.

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