Does anyone else feel like this year is flying by? We’re at the end of August. There are only four months left until Christmas. Somewhere in the last few months, I’ve had a realization that I tend to have at least once a year or so. It’s probably the same realization most people have the closer we get to the end of another year. I haven’t done as much yet this year as I’ve wanted to.

Consistency is something I really struggle with. I am an aspiring author working on my second draft edits for my first book. That requires consistency in breaking up my chapters to be edited or rewritten if I want them done by a certain time. Which I do. Life in general also requires consistency to keep up with the everyday stuff. Sometimes I’m good at it. I’ll be on top of things, I’ll have a really good routine going, and then I’ll just lose that motivation to keep it up. 

I struggle with consistency in my relationship with God too. I’ve built up a pretty good habit of reading my Bible every day for the most part and praying when I do. But my heart isn’t always in it like I want it to be. But I still try to keep up my habit for it at least, knowing that God will still use that time spent and draw me closer to Him again. 

He did this recently. I just finished reading through Psalm 119, taking it a stanza a day so it was easier to keep up with, and He’s been drawing me closer through it. One of the things I noticed throughout this psalm is a call for consistency. Faithfulness. They’re one in the same. To be faithful like God is faithful. Consistent like He is. 

Continually, throughout the chapter, the psalmist mentions keeping God’s commandments, longing for His salvation, loving His word. The psalmist has confidence in God’s truth and because of that he’s able to hold onto His word in times of trouble and that love of His word keeps him grounded. 

If I’m meant to be a faithful representative of God, which is my most important job on this earth, then I want to be consistently spending time with Him and getting to know the God I represent. 

Consistency requires denying the flesh. In all areas. Rest is important and that’s something I’m trying to learn how to balance. But sometimes I’m not looking to rest so much as I’m looking to avoid the work. When I know I need to do my Bible study or edit another chapter but all I want to do is read or play video games or anything else, that’s when I need to deny my flesh and go do the thing. Be consistent. Be faithful with what’s in front of me. 

Going through Psalm 119 also helped me understand God a bit better too. There are 176 verses in this psalm and each stanza goes into God’s personality, what kind of God He is, and what kind of Christian I want to be. The psalmist has great love and respect for God because he’s seen Him work. He’s been consistent in studying His word. He understands the kind of God he serves. Our God is faithful. Our God is loving. Our God is merciful and so ready to forgive at every moment. 

I want to be so much more consistent in my relationship with God. But even when we are inconsistent, when we loosen our hold on God and don’t stay in His word, when we go “astray like a lost sheep,” we are still God’s. He waits for us to come back. He never loses us. He knows how fickle we can be. How inconsistent. He understands that it’s difficult for us to maintain a faithful relationship with Him. Which makes the fact that we have such a faithful God all the more comforting. He’s faithful where we’re faithless. He’s loving when we forget to love. He’s forgiving when we need it most. 

Consistently search God’s word to see where He stands on different issues. God’s word stands supreme. His is the highest opinion, the truth that trumps anything else. Go to the source and see where He stands on the issues of the day. No, He won’t always lay it out word for word, but You can see His stance on how to treat others, what’s important to Him in how we live our lives, in how we vote or make decisions. 

Growing up I always heard that you could find the answers to anything in God’s word and I believed it but I also didn’t quite see how. So much of what we have today is different than what they had back when the Bible was written. How could God have an opinion written out that didn’t apply before? Because our God is unchanging. Our God is consistent to His own character. He was perfect to start with and never needed to change anything about Himself. Get to know the God you serve and you’ll know where He stands on modern concerns. 

The psalmist sees people not following God’s law and is saddened by this, not just because rules are being broken, but because of what that means. The people who don’t strive to keep God’s law are likely not seeing the love He has for them and why He enacted those laws in the first place. God doesn’t just like to give us things to do. He gives us guidelines to keep us safe, to keep us in good relationship with one another and with Him. 

So much of this psalm shows a deep love and respect for God’s word. It shows understanding that God has our best interests at heart. He loves us. When we disregard God’s Word, we distance ourselves from Him and we bring harm on ourselves whether we always see it or not. 

Take some time today to get to know your God a little better. Seek Him consistently on the things you don’t understand or the things that make you angry or bitter. See what He says about them. And then follow His lead.