Our spiritual road map

“I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to Your statutes.” Psalm 119:59
This little verse tucked away in Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, contains an important commitment that we should adopt in our own lives. Every verse in Psalm 119, with the exception of three, mentions God’s law, statutes, promises, or word. The chapter is divided into 22 sections of 8 verses where each verse in each section begins with the same successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a magnificent declaration on the integrity and value of the word of God.
The Bible is not just a history book, or a poetry book, or a feel-good book. It’s an instruction manual, teaching us directly and also through historical episodes, about the character of God and His plan for sinful man. It’s a book that we should dedicate ourselves to as Christians, so that it becomes part of us. It is to be our road map for life.
What do we do then, if we are reading the Bible and find something in it that we don’t agree with, or something that is in conflict with something we are doing in our lives? Some people try to change the Bible, saying, ‘It doesn’t really mean that’, or ignore it, saying, ‘That part isn’t relevant for us today.’ But “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8), and the words He has written are the same yesterday and today and forever. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35).
No, what we must do instead – if we are serious about the integrity and applicability of God’s word – is to change ourselves, and turn our steps to follow His way. This is what we do when we are driving, following a physical road map. We don’t try to drive through someone’s back yard, making our own way to reach a street on the other side where we want to be. We don’t ignore the fact that we need to find the road leading to a bridge in order to cross a river. How much more important is it to follow our spiritual road map, the Bible!