Joy in the Law || Psalm 119:143 || Manna for the Mind #137

Welcome to Day 137 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about finding nourishment in the Word of God to get us through the day. In each devotional, I take a variety of scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses each) and build our understanding of what they teach via their context and connecting scripture. My goal is to help you understand how to be the type of human God created you to be.

Today’s passage is Psalm 119:143. This will be a short devotional about finding joy in God’s command in times of stress.

Psalm 119:143

NASB	NLT	VOICE
143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight.	143 As pressure and stress bear down on me. I find joy in your commands.	143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me, but Your commandments bring me great joy.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem using each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We pick up with the letter Tsadhe.

Tsadhe signifies a fishing hook and righteousness. The letters’ formation combines other letters to represent a righteous person. (information taken and adapted from https://tanyaremkiv.com/2021/11/01/psalm-119137-144-tsadhe/#:~:text=Definition%20of%20Tsadhe&text=The%20letters’%20formation%20is%20a,(Reference).

The psalmist describes God as righteous and his commands fair. The psalmist is annoyed that his enemies have ignored God’s teachings. God’s promises are true, but that passion is being battled against the annoyance. God’s justice will last forever, and his commandments are true, so when life’s stressors weigh the psalmist down, they look to his commands to find joy.

What are the commands for us? Remember, the psalmist would have been more attuned to follow the Levitical law. For us, it’s God’s moral law:

• Love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
• Love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

We can find joy in these commands. We will consistently work to be better and stronger at following these commands. Some days will be better than others. Some days, it will be hard to follow these commands, but we can still do it. The promises and blessings of God that come with following these commands are active and true. We see God’s promises come to fruition through the different biblical stories, giving us hope to see them happen for us. The enemies we have will try to knock us down, put us down, and take out our legs, but we serve a God that’s stronger than all of that. When we feel battered and bruised by the ebbs and flows of life, remember there is positivity in following God’s moral law. Use that to find the strength to continue forward.

Father God, we thank you for your moral law. Some days make it hard to follow them, but those days are where we can find strength to continue onward. Help us to find that strength and stay dedicated to your will. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.