I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.[1]
Psalm 119:19
Stranger in this verse means foreigner. A foreigner is obviously out of place – everything is foreign to them and they are foreign to everything around them.
A helpful thing for foreigners in any country is a guidebook. I have many guidebooks about the Philippines. I have tried to learn as much as I can about the culture as a missionary. I would even say that some of the knowledge is necessary just to survive.
In Psalm 119, David acknowledges that he is a foreigner on planet earth, and he needs a guidebook – instructions, rules, laws – so that he can live effectively. As Christians, we know the this world is not our home!
As Christians, we know that this world is not our home!
As you grow in your faith, one of the first things that happens is that things that you cared about before, you don’t care about anymore: maybe the music that you listened too, maybe the places you would go before, maybe the people you would spend time with.
They become foreign to you.
One of my favorite songs is “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” and the lyrics say this:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
If you are maturing as a believer, you understand that you cannot make it in this world without the strength of God’s Word!
Without His guidance, you would be unable to live your life here on this earth – a foreigner longing for home.
[1]The New King James Version(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ps 119:19.