Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. (Ps. 119:111)
RECENTLY OUR SON, BEN, went with the young adult group from church on a mission trip to Oklahoma, where the goal of the trip was to help rebuild after devastating tornadoes. They spent long hours measuring, hammering, painting, and clearing debris. Then they’d head back to the church hosting them, where they took in nourishment and rest. Yet the evenings brought refreshment not only to the work group, but also to the hosts as the young adults spent time in ministry to the people in the church. They listened to personal testimonies and spent time in prayer with their local hosts, praying for physical and emotional healing with great impact. That week those young adults learned firsthand that following Jesus means doing things He did and doing their best to “look like Him.”
The psalmist encouraged us to follow the wisdom, the statutes, laid out in Scripture. Ben and his colleagues were part of the answer to the prayer, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
That new generation of leadership took hold of the notion that how we live matters, and in so doing built part of the heritage and foundation upon which the new heaven and new earth will be built. As the psalm implies, it could bring joy to their hearts forever.
Choose a statute of the Lord to flesh out this week.
Annie Wamberg is a recent empty-nester. She is enjoying the quiet as well as gardening and traveling.
