ס Samekh113 I hate double-minded people,  but I love your law.  114 You are my refuge and my shield;  I have put my hope in your word.  115 Away from me, you evildoers,  that I may keep the commands of my God!  116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;  do not let my hopes be dashed.  117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;  I will always have regard for your decrees.  118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,  for their delusions come to nothing.  119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;  therefore I love your statutes.  120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;  I stand in awe of your laws. REFLECTIONSWritten by James LaneHow do you go with obeying God when you feel like the only one? What about when someone is trying to get you to join in and do what is wrong? On a good day I joyfully stick to God’s better way of living, even if I am the only one. On these days it is so easy to remember why I love God’s law (v113). His words become my refuge and shield, helping me to stay away from evildoers (v114-115). I want to throw away wickedness now because I know God will throw away the wicked one day (v119).On a bad day though, I compromise and join in ignoring God’s instruction. Or I just become unsure if it’s worth sticking with God’s way. When I do that I forget that God will reject all who stray from his decrees (v118). I forget that living my own way is delusional because it will come to nothing (v118). I forget that God’s laws are awesome and I should stand in awe of them (v120).Can you relate to those good days and bad days? I am sure the Psalmist could. But amazingly Jesus couldn’t. He never had those ‘bad days’ like us! He is the person the Psalmist longs to be. That we long to be. The one who loves God's laws perfectly and always stayed away from evil. And amazingly one day I will love God's laws as much as him and stay away from evil as much as him. So for now, let’s cry out together with the Psalmist to God… “Sustain me and uphold me” (v116-117). God, help me to keep loving your ways when there is the danger of evil all around me. And just like the Psalmist, we can know that our hopes will not be dashed because God has promised it (v116).ABOUT THE AUTHORThis week our devotions are coming from our Mission Partners. James teaches scripture in our local high schools. As you reflect on Psalm 119 please also take a moment to pray for James and the other scripture teachers.