Regulations

This week as I was spending time in the Psalms I could not help but notice how frequently the psalmist praises God for his “law,” his “regulations,” his “statutes,” his “commands,” his “decrees.”  Prior to now, my mind has always gone to the 10 commandments when I read such things. Although they are a valuable guide to live by, it just seems like meditating on them and writing songs about them and praising God for them continually is not something that would fill my heart on a regular basis.

This morning I read Psalm 119:62-64

“I rise at midnight to thank you for your just regulations.

I am a friend to anyone who fears you -

Anyone who obeys your commandments.

O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees.”

I often rise at midnight… and 2 a.m. … and 4 a.m…. and seldom is my mind filled with praise for God’s just regulations. It is more like a feeling that He slipped up when he made my body and this shouldn’t be happening!

Then it hit me. Everything God made is systematic, orderly, and right. He made all things with an ebb and flow; darkness and light; work time and rest time; laughter and tears; young and old; strength and weakness.  All for a purpose. All according to His perfect timing. The rotation of the Earth – it’s orbit around the sun. The changing seasons. The growth and development of all He created. Everything has a system of orderliness.

In our lives we spend much time trying to keep our head above water, frantically paddling our way upstream trying to survive. Do we take the time to realize what is truly happening around us? How the Lord is working? When I look at my days… weeks… maybe even months I often see more frantic frenzy than I do systematic order. And that isn’t a good thing.

I believe God created us for order. Our bodies function in a particular order by his design. We have no right to sabotage God’s plan and purpose by filling our world with the unneeded so that there is no space for the valuable order that was intended.

I often think that our kids are being reshaped by all the activities we condone in their lives. They no longer grasp the concept of stillness; quietness; order. They see our frantic pace and it becomes their normal. Rushing from one activity to the next is the American way. Being still and experiencing what God has for us has become abnormal and we strive hard to find the time and space for it when we feel God tugging on our heart and proclaiming His agony over our separation from Him.

My life needs more order. I need to stop running to the “fire” to douse the flames and start doing more things systematically so that the “fires” don’t keep springing up all around me. I need a schedule that is the norm and I need to say NO to the things that keep me from the “regulations” I was created to observe by the One who loves me and pines for me to slow down and listen and enjoy His presence.

Parenting has a great deal of “fires” that tend to disrupt our plans. That is somewhat the natural rhythm of parenting. But don’t create more by allowing what is unnecessary to overtake the systematic plan of your Creator. Listen to His rhythm and rest in His arms as He whispers to you of His perfect plan for your day. Allow Him time to speak while you wait with Him, observing His beautiful and perfect order for your life.