Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever gotten something from Ikea or Amazon or some website that requires you to build whatever it is you bought? Like a bookshelf? Often you get all the pieces, and then a nice thick instruction manual. It can be kind of annoying, sometimes, when you see that come in. But there's an importance to the instruction manual. Today's Verse of the Day actually speaks to God's instruction manual for us.
It comes out of Psalm chapter 40, verse 8. "I take joy in doing Your will, my God, for Your instructions are written on my heart."
The Ikea Bookshelf
Visualize this with me. You take the box home from Ikea. You open it up. There's the bookshelf. You're excited to build it. You know what books you're going to put on there. Color coded, even. You've got a vision for it. Then that annoying, pesky instruction manual shows up.
You're a creative. You know how to build a bookshelf. No one has to teach you. You just put the A pin into where the A slot is, and then all of the shelves fit in like so. It's natural. Feels easy. You build it all without ever touching the instructions.
The Leftover Pieces
When you're done, you look to your left and you realize there's a whole shelf left over and ten extra screws. A bunch of question marks start filling your mind and you're wondering, will this bookshelf be able to hold everything that I plan to put in it?
It's a little unnerving. When we look at what's left over, we realize the integrity of the bookshelf could be compromised. More than likely, it is, because we didn't look at what the instructions said to make sure it stayed together when you put books in there.
Our Need for Instruction
If we need instructions to build something so that its integrity is secure, I think the Lord has a purpose for putting instructions on our heart along the same vein.
Maybe you've worked in an environment where someone gives you an assignment, they tell you what to do, and then they're constantly looking over your shoulder—kind of like a micromanager. You feel like they won't leave you be, and they're watching and waiting for you to mess up.
When Instructions Feel like Micromanagement
Maybe you grew up in a home like that. To hear the word "instructions" might bring these pictures back to mind, and you would much rather be free of them and do what you want to do.
I want to bring some clarity to this and hopefully encourage you around why God would put His instructions on your heart. God is not a micromanager in that He's always looking over your shoulder, waiting for the moment that you fail.
God Gives Instructions out of Love
God gives us His instructions because He cares for us. He loves us enough to put His Word in our heart. There's a Psalm that actually says, "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against God."
The psalms are filled with a recognition of the beauty of God's rules and disciplines and instructions. All of these things are there to help us, and the writers point to their helpfulness.
God's Instructions Protect Us
Instead of looking at God as someone who's waiting for you to mess up, look at the instructions He gives as boundary lines to keep you safe or helpful hints to work toward the goal of seeing Him face to face.
No matter what you face today, when you turn to the Word of God and you remember that He puts what's in here in here to keep you safe, you can face any challenge and know that God is at your back and He's going to help you get through it.
Embrace God's Instructions
Don't despise the instruction of the Lord. Embrace it so that the integrity of your heart can be sturdy and steadfast, and trust that He knows what He's doing when He puts His Word right here.
