It feels like my light is dim. Almost like it’s covered in a layer of grime. I don’t know how it got there, but there it is. I want to shine brightly for the Lord, but I can’t seem to pull myself together. It’s been one poor decision after another. Not bad decisions, mind you. Poor ones. And I can’t seem to turn it around. It’s one step forward and three steps backward. It’s like my motivation and will power have been turned down, and my selfishness has been turned up. My spirit is struggling with my inner self, one wanting to do better and the other saying it’s okay to put me first. It’s got me in a funk and feeling bleh. When I get in a funk, when my focus is on me – I snooze my alarm and then am running late. I choose doing my hair over reading my Bible. I listen to music that matches my funky mood instead of music that turns my heart toward Christ. I take things personally and make every conversation about me instead of tuning into the people around me. It’s a vicious cycle that looks something like a hamster running on a wheel: no matter how hard the hamster tries, it’s always an endless cycle of going nowhere. I don’t love the hamster wheel but life is busy, the wheel keeps spinning, and I don’t know how to jump off!
Psalm 119:9 says, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy Word.” When I need to cleanse my way – fix myself – shift my focus from being all about me to being all about Christ, putting Him first, and actively working to honor Him with my life, the answer lies in Scripture. I need to take heed to the instruction found in the Bible. There are three things the psalmist David illuminates as options when he needed to cleanse his own ways and refocus on Christ: prayer, Bible, and rejoicing.
Prayer
Focus your inner conversations on God. The very next verse after David says that taking heed to the Word of God is how to cleanse our ways, he goes on to say, “With my whole heart have I sought thee:” (Psalm 119:10) One of the most beneficial ways to seek the Lord is to talk to Him! Prayer doesn’t have to be formal. It can be a conversation in your heart with the Lord. Ask for Him to guide you throughout the day. Ask for His wisdom and strength. Ask Him to help you glorify Him with your choices and actions. Thank Him for His mercy and grace. Thank Him for his goodness in your life. Talk to Him! Focus your inner heart conversation on Christ.
Bible
Verse 11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Read your Bible. The Bible is both God’s love letter to us and our instruction guide. We cannot follow instructions we have never read! We must be familiar with the life instructions God made clear in His Word. A little bit every day doesn’t always feel like it’s helpful in the moment, but when we read our Bible daily, we are hiding His Word in our hearts. It never ceases to amaze me how later in the same day or week I need help or encouragement from a verse I read on a day that I didn’t think I really got anything from my Bible reading. We can also make an effort to memorize verses. When we are reading and a verse stands out to us, we can write it down and carry it with us all day. Read it throughout the day and try to memorize it. You never know when you need a previously memorized verse to float to the front of your mind and help you make Christ-honoring decisions. My high school principle used to love to say “Garbage in, garbage out.” If we put garbage into our minds, garbage will jump out of our mouths. What if instead of filling our minds with tv, radio, and worldly music, we filled our minds with Scriptures? Bible in, Bible out!
Rejoicing
David goes on in verse 14 to say, “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies.” A powerful way to rejoice in the Lord is through music. Listen to music that points your heart toward Christ. There is a lot of music that is wonderful and doesn’t worship Christ. When we are trying to cleanse our ways, reset habits and focus to be off ourselves and onto Christ, we need to be putting godly, worshipful music into our minds, hearts, and souls.
These three principles are simple and powerful. We all slip into a funk from time to time. We find our spiritual light dim when it should be shining brightly. The devil doesn’t need Christians to shatter the light bulb completely, to forsake Christ and live fully for ourselves. The devil just needs us distracted from actively pursuing a life that puts God first. He wants our light to be dimmed just enough that we aren’t useful. We must be careful when we get in a funk, when our light feels grimy from our selfish focus to intentionally fix ourselves, to refocus on Christ and shine brightly for Him.
I love the children’s song “This little light of mine” even as an adult because it is a beautiful reminder that it’s a choice to shine our light for the Lord.
This little light of mine,
I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I’m going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
