A Look at Psalm 119:33
Teach me to follow
Psalm 119:33 “Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.”
“Teach me to follow.” That’s a statement of love. David says in essence, “Lord, I want to follow You forever.” He didn’t intend to follow God temporarily or when it was convenient. He intended to follow Him to the end, or right up until the day of the Lord’s return.
Jesus teaches us that this type of commitment will be equally important to us, especially in the last days. In
Luke 18:8 it says,
“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” By the time Jesus returns, will He find those who have followed Him up until the very last days? The Bible indicates that in the last days, times will be difficult. People's hearts will fail them for fear of what is coming on earth. There will be a growing apostasy in the Church.
In the parable preceding Jesus’ words, He teaches us of the need to persist in prayer. It begins by saying,
“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” Luke 18:1. This expresses David’s heart when he said,
“I will keep them [God’s decrees] to the end.”
David’s key was that he was a follower of God. He said, “Teach me to follow.” Many of us want to be leaders, rather than followers of God. We say, “Teach me to lead.” We study leadership, we read about great leaders, and we are fascinated with champions. The problem is that we cannot be leaders of people until we are followers of God. David was content with God getting all the glory. Subsequently, he could follow God even when things were not going well.
When the Son of Man returns will He find faith in your heart? He will, if you are a follower of God.
I encourage you to take some time to meditate on this verse, and as you do, consider whether you are content with following? or must you lead?
Continued
