Several times in the book of the Acts the word intently was used. Here is another. Elymas the sorcerer withstood Saul and Barnabas as they were sharing the gospel with the proconsul. Acts 13:9 says, ‘Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him.”

As I was meditating on Psalm 119:37, my mind went back to the scene in Acts. It says, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things…” The Hebrew word means to see, look at, perceive, consider, gaze at, look intently at. 

Looking intently at worthless things means that our attention is captured. It is wasted time, never to be regained. It could be magazines, books, movies, self-help, or mindless activities. Let’s pick up the last of the verse which says, “…and revive me in Your way.” Revive means to be restored to life and health.

Wisdom from above is first pure, according to James 3:18. There is no human mixture. It is peaceable. In Acts 6:10 the religious leaders could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit in which Stephen spoke.”

Colossians 2:3 says, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” James 1:5 says that if we lack wisdom, we can ask the Lord and He will give it to us. Each situation we face has His specific wisdom needed to navigate.

God’s wisdom is not stagnant, but fresh, vital, and essential. Proverbs 2:6-7 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright…”

Each trial, hardship, impossibility, or adversity that we face is already equipped with His wisdom. His special provision is stored up until needed. Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, wrote that His grace to endure and to conquer is never given until the moment in need.

Looking back derails us. We quickly get off track. When a farmer wants to plow a row, they look at a stationary object at the end of the row. Perhaps a tree, or a fence post that will not move. Each row is a new project that takes concentration. 

We need to approach our walk with the Lord in the same way. Our expectation is on Him. Hebrews 11:1 says “now faith…” Galatians 3:5 says, “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Now faith is fresh, vital, and essential. The Lord never works the same, even in situations that are exactly the same. I love 2 Samuel 5:18-24. Twice David faced the exact same situation. Yet, each time He inquired of the Lord. Each time the Lord gave him different instructions.

Peter had a vision. As he was thinking about what it might mean, Cornelius’ men stood before the gate. Peter went with them according to the Spirit’s instruction. Acts 10. In Acts 11 Peter recounted the vision. Verse 6 says, “When I observed it intently and considered…”

I love God’s impeccable timing. Verse 11-12 says, “At that moment, three men stood before the house where I was…Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing…” The Strong’s for ‘doubting nothing’ means a conflict within oneself. Hesitating, having misgivings, being divided in decision making, or wavering between hope and fear.

Peter stood in the truth. He did not allow what he used to rely on to hinder what the Spirit wanted to do in the present. What a lesson for all of us! We need to be resolute with no vacillation ~ single-minded ~ steadfast in truth that will keep us free.

Psalm 119:33-36, 38 are verses that express the attitude of a learner. I will recap. Teach me. Give me understanding. Make me walk. Incline my heart. Establish Your word. Incline means to listen favorably.

Selective hearing causes us to miss some essential truths that are needed to set us free. Paul’s epistles have some great prayers that we can personalize. Colossians 1:10 is a great one. “Help me walk worthy of You Lord, fully pleasing You, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in my knowledge of You.”

We are speaking the Lord’s love language when we pray Scripture. Verse 11 is a great one when we are being pressed with hard trials. This is how I pray this verse for myself. “Strengthen me now with all might, according to Your glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy. Let joy be the high watermark of my life.” Scripture is an excellent template for prayer.

Ephesians 2:10 says that we are His workmanship, “…created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”

The Lord has given us His word ~ righteous pavers. Proverbs 4:23 says to guard our heart. Why? “…for out of it spring the issues of life.” We will be tempted. Are you prepared? In 1 Peter 5:9 Peter’s crucible words ring out, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”

We can gain victory over ANY area of defeat ~ unresolved issues ~ in our life by laying righteous pavers. Fear. Isaiah 41:10. Lust. Job 31:1. Bitterness. Hebrews 12:15. Doubt. James 1:6-8. Spiritual barrenness. Isaiah 54:1-2. Sexual sin. 1 Corinthians 6:12, 18-20. Lying. Ephesians 4:25. Unforgiveness. Ephesians 4:32. No fruit. 2 Peter 1:5-9. Hidden sin. Psalm 66:18. Procrastination. Ephesians 5:15-16.

We have the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21. That is our unchangeable standing. Our righteousness is like filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6. There is a work of righteousness ~ laying down righteous pavers ~ to walk upright before the Lord in our changeable state.

Isaiah 32:17 says, ‘The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” I think of the word ‘work’ here as a potter with clay. The potter has to work in water, so the clay can be molded.

Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” He always goes before us to prepare the way. No trial is happenstance ~ rather divinely orchestrated to mold us into His character.

As a potter centers the worked clay, so the Lord uses the pressures, hardships, trials, adversities to center us on Him. Our pathways were preordained. I believe everything we go through was set into the seed of our conception.

I have continued to meditate on Psalm 119:30. It is a template for decisiveness and implementation. I have chosen. I have laid. The decision to do something proactive was made. Then the steps to succeed were set in place.

Here is an example. During the pandemic tempers flared. It was easy to get caught up in fleshly reactions. However, when we lay God’s word as pavers before us, we have a clear path to walk in His righteousness.

James 1:20 clearly states, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Proverbs 29:11 Amplified says, “A (self-confident) fool utters all his anger, but a wise man holds it back and stills it.”

Ephesians 4:26-27 is an essential paver. It says, “Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” The enemy of our soul loves to stir up strife, quarrels, harsh words, and spewed angry threats. When we have our ‘pavers’ laid down in front of us, we will not allow any opportunity for fleshly retaliations.

Psalm 119:30 says, “I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.” As I was meditating on this verse, I thought back to when I watched my friend lay bricks. He had to first level the ground. Then he put down sand to keep the bricks from shifting when I walked on it.

We make the choice to walk in the way of truth. However, we have to level the ground by removing the debris of hidden lies, doubts, fears, and unbelief. They are squatters, but the truth is absolute. Remember that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” John 14:6. 

Jesus reveals the hidden truths of His word as we bring them into our hearts. Each brick of truth is carefully laid so that we have a firm foundation to walk on. Our progressive sanctification is step by step. As Isaiah 28:10 says, “For precept must be upon precept…line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

I am so grateful for Isaiah 55:8-9. It says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

I love Psalm 18:30 which says, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” God’s way is perfect, and so much higher that it is beyond us.

Catch and observe Psalm 18:32. It says, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” Wow what a gift! All our fiery trials, hardships, adversities, and persecutions are His tools to perfect our way. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3. Righteousness is His work of conforming our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will and ways.