Our relationship to God’s Word is parallel to our relationship with Him.  God gave us His Word so we could know Him.  And Psalm 119 traces one man’s journey of going deeper and deeper into the truths of it until it has been intertwined with his own heart, gradually getting more internal than external.  We can take that same journey.  All it really takes is time, a desire in our hearts, and an open Bible.

Psalm 119:1-8
ALEPH.
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

First the psalmist sought, perhaps, simply to be blessed in his life.  That is an outcome that results from obeying God.  So this can be our beginning, too.  The first part of that is being undefiled, because that obviously pleases our holy God.  And to do that requires more than knowing the commands, laws, and statutes of God.  It requires walking in them.  To keep from sinning, we must walk in God’s ways.  To stay undefiled, we do what God says and live that out day by day and step by step.  It is a process that starts with obedience as our motivation.

In other words, we have to want to want to.  We’re unlikely to stick to anything that we really don’t want to do.  The first step, then, is to take a first step—to begin a pursuit of God and studying His word and seeking Him with our whole heart.  Knowing God is the ultimate end goal, intentionally wanting to know Him and what He wants us to do so that we can do those things.  Because sticking to His path helps us avoid the many negative outcomes of sin and provides many benefits, and He reveals all of those things to us in His Word.

And ultimately, that affects our relationship with God.  Following His way keeps us close to Him, and there are blessings just from that fellowship with Him and the close communion that comes when our hearts and lives are right with Him.  Our obedience shows Him we are serious about our commitment to Him.  May our desire be more than simply seeking knowledge, but may it grow into a fuller and richer experience of what it means to truly know and follow God.  May it become more than a promise and an intention and truly become something that manifests as an action in our lives.