Guarding

Psalm 119:9-16
⁹How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
¹¹I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
¹²Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.
¹³With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
¹⁴I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Do you ever sit back at the end of the day, watching or reading the news and wonder, “Why?” Why are things so bad? Why is the world so bleak? Is it really this generation of leadership? Where is the hope for our youth?

The psalmist questions, “How can young people keep their way pure?” While the question seems to attack the systemic problem, it is more of a rhetorical question. It is a question with a very clear answer, that immediately responds to the question at hand: “How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word (Psalm 119:9).”

The Psalmist was probably young, so it is not an attack at others, at a younger generation. Instead, we should see the question leading us to a better way. Guard your way according to God’s word. That is the advice offered in the face of trying times. The question has an answer, but it is challenge for us, because it involves daily repitition. Today, pray with the psalmist.

Prayer: I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Amen.