Psalm 119:165 (ESV)
¹⁶⁵  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

 Someone has said, “True love for the great Book will bring us great peace from a great God.”  I do not know who said this, but there is a lot of truth to it.  Do you want to enjoy true peace in your life?  If you do, learn to love the Word of God.  There are many reasons why a great love for the Bible will bring you peace.  Let me give you a few of them.

If you love the Word of God, you will spend time reading it.  The Bible is full of wonderful promises that lead to the inner tranquility of the soul.  These promises comfort us in any circumstance of life.  For example, the promise of eternal life helps us to realize that any problems we currently experience are only temporary.  There is great peace in knowing that any difficulty that invades our lives, will sooner or later pass because someday we will be in heaven with God.  Such truth gives us courage, conviction, and confidence to overcome the greatest of trials.

We also have the promise of God being with us right now.  Jesus told His disciples that He would be with them until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), and we can have confidence that God continues to be with us.  Why?  Because the Bible tells us so (Hebrews 13:5; Psalms 23:4).  The Bible is God’s personal letter to us, filled with promises of life, love, and eternal happiness if we simply follow its precepts.  How could that not result in great peace for those who love the law of God?

Christians can experience calmness amid chaos because the Word teaches us that God is always in control.  Whether we are surrounded by a life-threatening virus or simply the decaying values of a sin-sick world, we know that God is sitting on His throne (Revelation 4:1-11), and nothing happens apart from His permissive will.  The Word of God teaches us this and our love for it causes us to believe.

Paul believed in the Word of God, and it brought him comfort as he stood on the deck of a ship caught in a devastating storm.  Everyone else on the ship was in a panic, but Paul was at peace because the Word of God told him everything would be alright.  This is what he said to the crew:

Acts 27:23-25 (KJV)
²³  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, ²⁴  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. ²⁵  Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God…

When we love God’s Word, we believe it; and, when we believe it, it brings us peace.  Of course, if we love the law of the Lord, we will obey it and that, too, brings us peace.  It first brings us peace with God.  Paul said, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).  This faith that brings peace with God is obedient.  As long as we are obedient to God, this peace continues.  When we have peace with God, we also have the peace that comes from God and that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

The Psalmist was right.  “Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them stumble.”  Keep this saying in mind.  If you ever stumble, it is because somewhere along the way, you stopped loving the law of God.  Do what you can to get that love back.   

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.