WHOLE or HOLE?

 

January 9, 2024

Psalm 119:2-3

Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.



I read the following quote the other day, “The difference between being whole and having a hole in our hearts is a “W,” and that “W” stands for worship”. Perhaps this is what the Psalmist was trying to get at in Psalm 119, that it makes a difference who or what we worship. It matters who or what we “seek” with all our hearts. That the path our life journey takes, whose ways we follow, can make the difference in whether we live in a place of wholeness, completeness or Shalom or in a place trying to find the missing piece, a life lived that feels empty, disordered and incomplete.

I suppose, the question becomes: who or what do you worship? What is the story you follow? Is it a story of babies being born from barren wombs, faith the size of mustard seeds that can move mountains, or a teenager who slays giants? A story of hope about how a life in Jesus conquers death, brings new life, transforms, and gives an expectant world view.

Our Psalm today says that in seeking God with our whole hearts, we bring our everything to God: the light and the darkness, the joy and the despair, the shame, and the pride. God knows the desires of our hearts. The bible reminds us that no secrets are hidden from God. And so, we seek to follow God’s ways and keep God’s statutes, not perfectly and not without stumbling. We do pursue and chase after God. To Worship him in spirit and in truth. To live life, being “whole” versus living life with “a hole in our hearts.”

The Psalmist is saying that authentic life and joy are found when what we say we believe is reflected in what we do in our lives, that points to the story we live by.

Psalm 63

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you, …”