Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. – Psalm 119:18

This is the longest Psalm in the Bible– it stretches 176 verses and is written beautifully according the Hebrew Alphabet in 8 line acrostics. The most amazing thing about this Psalm is that the entire passage is about understanding the Bible through 22 different lenses of favor. I’m not going to go into all the nerdy details of it, but I want to highlight some aspects to get you kick started in the right direction to receive the full favor of God in your life. The Psalm starts by asking God for the endurance, will power and grace to study and meditate over the words of God. I know it’s hard to open up the Bible and actually read it. For those of us with self-diagnosed ADHD, it’s nearly impossible. For others of us, we’re just really bad at opening up the Bible and finding a passage in there that doesn’t read like the latest US Jobs report. Then there are those of us who sat in so many Sunday School classes where the magical somehow equals God and becomes on par with the magic beansprout and Rumpelstiltskin– it becomes a nice fairy tale. However, there is one guarantee when you ask God for the power, endurance and tenacity to study His Word– that is you will never be put to shame because God will NEVER let you go. That is an assurance we all can use in light of our flipping and flopping personal commitments and employment statuses. This brings us to verse 18, which is our meditation verse for today– “open my eyes so that I can see the wonder.” This is favor. If you compare “favor” as having an edge, then this is it. Here’s the deal, when you read, and I mean read, not skim, you open your eyes to something wonderful, an “edge” that is embedded in Scripture specifically for you by God. It is this “edge” you see that makes you impervious, by the grace of God, from falling at your own mistakes. I’m not going to even address people who have bad intentions for us because we’re our own worst enemy and we beat ourselves most of the time! Here’s where our “opened eyes” hits the road in practice. When you see things from the perspective of God through Scripture, you begin to find your heart being enlarged (v32). When your heart is enlarged, the petty, stupid things of life, matter less. The anxiety and stress fall off and break away from the gray matter in your brain. Your “enlarged heart” allows God to “turn [our] eyes from looking at worthless things; and give [us] life in [God’s] ways” (v37). This is essentially the same as having new life. It’s having a fresh perspective and being able to act in accordance to it. Your small, selfish heart will undoubtedly open new realms of possibility in your world when your heart is enlarged to be bigger than itself. It is like having power that once was never yours. This is the favor of God as you open your eyes to Scripture for observing the wonders contained within it. This morning, I pray and I adamantly encourage you to open your eyes to God’s Word in Scripture and spend time with Him. I guarantee that if you stick with it, the presence of God will fill your heart and you can gain the edge God gives to those who trust in Him and walk in His ways. Part 2 will be available at noon.