Psalm
39 reminds me of the reason most diets fail. Many people decide they
are going to avoid everything bad, then, on day one they eliminate
all the sweet tasty treats they love. This lasts an hour or a day,
but usually before too long they overindulge in something delicious
and get mad at themselves. Many times that is the end of the diet,
because they believe they are just unable. I believe the only
effective diet is a lifestyle change, substituting one food with
something better and adding new activities to the old stagnant
behavior. In today’s psalm, David seems to look in the mirror and
decide he will change. “I
will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle
on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
Perhaps it is the words we use, or the shows we watch, or the music
we listen to, or the websites we visit; but one day we say, “Enough”.
We delete, avoid and change, thinking we have done something
dramatic. David continues, “But
when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my
anguish increased“.
We soon find an uncomfortable void in our life. It has been said,
“Nature
abhors a vacuum”.
Things naturally fill in empty spaces. Like a car tire, we can have
a slow leak, or we can have a blowout. David says, “My
heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I
spoke with my tongue: ‘Show me, O Lord, my life’s end’
“. We see the frustration of focusing solely on avoiding the bad
stuff. If this describes your spiritual life, David offers you more
than a celery stick.
After
multiple attempts at dieting and failing, many people resign
themselves to the inevitable. They give up and eat what they want.
Likewise, when people try to avoid sin by their own efforts, they get
frustrated and often settle for looking happy outwardly, or worse,
they think God has rejected them. David writes, “How
fleeting is my life… The span of my years is as nothing before You.
Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to
and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not
knowing who will get it“.
Many people ask themselves, “What is the point of trying?”
David asks, “But
now, Lord, what do I look for?”
But he does not give up, he looks up.
David
comes to this conclusion, “My
hope is in You… Save me from all my transgressions“.
He recognizes his willpower alone will not get him to his goal. His
confidence is in God. His first step is to recognize that
forgiveness is a gift from God. It is God’s delight. 1 Timothy
2:4 reminds us, “God
our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of
the truth“.
Rather than subtracting, David desires to add God.
“Hear
my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my
weeping.”
Real lifestyle change begins when we add more substance to our life.
Things of little value will fall away. Where do we begin? Studies
show that when we have a committed partner in our weight control, we
are significantly more effective. The purpose of meeting together in
church is to give us encouragement and accountability. But you
cannot be healthy eating one day a week. What we eat is determined
by our current state. Are you searching? Are you a new believer?
Have you become a spiritual couch-potato? Hebrews 5:12 explains,
“you
need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s Word all
over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted
with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the
mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish
good from evil“.
In the next psalm we will see the results of this kind of diet. But
Jeremiah, 15:16 expresses the experience of tasting God’s Word,
“When
your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s
delight“.
Are you hungry for a change? God’s banquet awaits.