Devotions: Blessings from Observance

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.

Psalm 119:2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Observe here means more than just noticing, it refers to keeping or obeying. God’s testimonies are His divine witnesses, or precepts, i.e. divine rules of conduct. We are blessed, happy and spiritually prosperous, if we obey the rules of conduct God has laid out for us. Those rules are not made to dominate or control us, but rather for our own benefit. They are the standards by which our world and system of life were created. It is the order by which we were designed to live. God’s testimonies are the owner’s instructions of how to live life prosperously and fully. It is the best way for us to live, the most free from harm and negative consequences. Would it not make sense that the best way to live is the way that we were created and designed to live? The second part of the verse really should come first because it is a prerequisite to the first part. The way that we accomplish truly observing God’s testimonies is by seeking Him with all our hearts. If He is our highest priority, our greatest desire, our sweetest delight, then our lives will be immersed in Him and observing His testimonies will not only be easy, but will be a byproduct of our daily lives. It will not only be something that we desire and seek, but will naturally come from our immersion in God. It is not so much that we have to work on being obedient but that we have to seek Him fully and completely. No amount of strict obedience will bless without a heart that is buried in Christ. Rather the result from that strict obedience will be a life of pain and struggle, devoid of joy and delight. But if God is our delight to the extent that our greatest desire is to please Him and be like Him, then obedience will be natural and easier. I won’t say that it is easy because it isn’t. We still war against the flesh and sinned nature that will be ours until we leave this earth, but it will be easier with God’s help and direction. Seek God and be blessed!