Put Down Your Phone, Write Out a PsalmSample

How easy it is to get off track

There’s a reason David went astray (off the path, off the way). Simply put, he didn’t keep God’s word:

Before I was humbled I went astray but now I keep your word (Psalm 119:67, NRSV).

If a pilot is off course by one degree, you may not notice it at first when you take off from, say, Los Angeles.

But if the course isn’t corrected, that slight deviation will land you in a totally different destination—500 miles off target. So instead of landing in New York, where you thought you were going, you’d end up in Detroit!

Said differently, if you take your eye off the ball, you miss the goal. Keeping your eye always on God’s word is essential to goodness, peace of mind, and security. And to staying on the safe and good path.

And it’s not like David is being naive here, dealing with unserious problems. He faces blatant:

• arrogance, subversion, guile (79).
• persecution—the arrogant dug pitfalls for him, flouting God’s law (84, 85).
• persecution without cause; they almost “made an end of me on earth” (87).
• wickedness—people lying in wait to destroy him (95).

God’s law and way helped David navigate landmines and IEDs meant to create carnage by his enemy. Dangerous traps and tactics meant to take him out.

Oh, and there’s yearning too

There’s a yearning, a longing—“my soul languishes for your salvation” (Psalm 119:81, NRSV)— for salvation and God’s word. A hunger and a thirst for it. It’s worth pausing to note and take this in.

This is the stuff of passion and desire, something truly alive and real. This psalm touches the deepest things of life.

Is your devotional life this spicy?

Action steps

• Get a journal or some paper and a pen.
• Put your phone in a drawer or another room.
• Get a physical Bible (so you won't get distracted by anything else).
• Take time to write out Psalm 119: 80-96 verse by verse.
• Reflect on what God is highlighting for you.