Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances... I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, even to the end.
Jim Collin spoke of "the genius of the and", and this has intrigued me. Though he speaks of it in relation to contrasts, I have seen it as connecting vital words and thoughts, without which we won't see the whole. This has caused me to especially take note of it in relation to its strong use in Scripture. There are words, statements, thoughts, concepts and truths that are only half full without the "and" that connects it with another word or phrase, without which we would not have the full picture, meaning, strength and color. For example: male and female, Alpha and Omega, and faith and works. What would one be without the other? I would say, "this is the power of the and". The Psalmist knew this and said, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. If you've ever walked in the darkness with a flashlight, you are constantly moving the light from your feet to the path ahead and back again to keep from stumbling. In the same way, God not only sheds light on the present, right where my feet are right now, but also on the path ahead, and back again. Then the Psalmist says, "I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances. I learned, over my 38 years of ministry that a trip to the altar, like a diet, takes more than an emotional experience. It necessitates both commitment and continuation. But continuation doesn't just happen. It becomes a part of our lives when we "incline" ourselves toward it. Here's how the Psalmist put it: "I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, even to the end." Inclination is that set of the soul that chooses to chose for God every time. This is that inclination that keeps us from sin and keeps us to Him. Jim Carattini, managing editor of a Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, tells of John Wesley once asking his mother for a definition of sin. John received this response: "Take this rule. Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things...that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." (Letters of Susanna Wesley, June 8, 1725). This is profound and powerful! So which way are you inclined? You cannot be given to God and sin at the same time. There is simply not this kind of "and" in this relationship. Many, like a car out of alignment, need for God to realign the heart so it doesn't pull to the right or to the left. Could this be what the Psalmist was getting at when he prayed, "Unite my heart to fear Your name" (Psalm 86:11)? What a wonderful possibility! I think it's worth praying,
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