Rewarded with Comfort, Guidance, Wisdom and More

      By Fern Horst

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." (Psalms 19:7-11)

In my Sunday School class of upper elementary students, we encourage the students to memorize Scripture. We then have picnics, tea parties, and other incentives to reward their efforts. We remind them often that the real reward isn't the reward we give them. The real reward will be having these Scripture truths in their hearts to give them guidance, comfort and wisdom for the many different experiences they'll encounter throughout their lives.

As these verses in Psalms tell us, God's Word does many things: it converts the soul, it makes the simple wise, it causes our hearts to rejoice, it enlightens our eyes. But it can't do these things unless we read it and make it a part of our very beings. We do that by not just reading Scripture to get our Bible reading quota in for the day, but by reading it carefully word for word, studying it, memorizing it, and meditating on its truths throughout the day. It takes time and effort – but it's an investment that is worth far more than anything else in which we could invest our time and effort.

The Psalmist goes on to say that God's Word will stand true forever, and that we can count on it to be true and right in every aspect. When we follow the truths and commandments in God's Word, we know that we are doing the right thing.

Singles often don't have the safety net of a spouse to discuss things over with before making decisions. Sometimes we can find counsel from others we respect, but it's not always easy conveying all the nuances of the situation that need to be taken into consideration, or finding someone with the vested interest in the situation that we would like.

But we do have God's Word at our disposal to pour over for help in how we should handle certain situations. While we won't find our specific situations spelled out word for word in the Bible, we will find principles to apply for anything we might face. These principles are our Heavenly Father's gifts to us so that we know how to live our lives. We can live life successfully without a spouse, but we can't live life successfully for what will count for eternity without applying God's principles.

The Psalmist finishes up this section of verses by telling us that God's Word is more desirable than fine gold. It's tempting to think that the solution to a lot of our problems would be plenty of money. But according to these verses, it's not. God's Word holds the solution to any problem that we may face, and in light of that, it's worth far more than any amount of money we may be able to have.

In keeping the truths of God's Word there is great reward, the Psalmist concludes – much greater reward than picnics and tea parties! Much greater reward than money or possessions! The reward comes in a life that is successful in the things that count for eternity, because we are following God's principles. And when we leave this earth for our eternal home, the greatest reward of all awaits us.

© 2007 Fern Horst

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