Article by: Sarah Koontz
Is there a person in your life whom you esteem as a scholar in God’s School?
Someone who seems to have unique access to God, supreme wisdom in every circumstance, and an uncanny ability to weave God’s truth into each conversation?
I know several of these scholars, and their depth of knowledge is, quite frankly, a bit intimidating.
I, too, want to be a godly scholar, but HOW can I do this when it all seems so unattainable, unreachable, unachievable?
I’m afraid I’ve been affected by an acute case of Spiritual Inferiority Complex.
Elanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
I’m going to find that consent form and rip it up right this minute (and you should, too!).
But is it really possible for people like you and me to become scholars in God’s school?
Merriam-Webster defines a scholar as “a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it.”
Therefore, a scholar in God’s school is simply a person who has studied the Bible for a long time and knows a lot about God.
Well, that’s not so big and scary, is it?
It still seems a bit nondescript to me, though.
How long is a “long time”? And would you please clarify what you mean by “a lot”?
Maybe, if we take this whole idea of God’s school one step further, it will illuminate exactly what we need to do to attain a scholarship.
If God truly did have a school here on earth, I wonder if it wouldn’t look a little something like this?
God’s School offers open enrollment—the class size is unlimited.
Students need not possess a great deal of intelligence nor have extraordinary financial means.
Age, gender, and race carry no weight in the enrollment process.
All that is required for admittance is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and an unquenchable thirst for the things of God.
The Student’s Code of Conduct Book contains two simple rules: #1 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. #2 – Love your neighbor as yourself.
The school has three staff positions, all filled by the same person.
- Administrator: God the Father
- Teacher: Jesus Christ
- Counselor: The Holy Spirit
There is just one textbook, divided into 66 unique and individual sections.
All students are required to learn their ABCs—the Saint’s Alphabet—contained in Psalm 119.
Psalm 119 is divided into 22 sections (one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet), with eight verses assigned to each.
In the original Hebrew language, each of these eight verses begins with the corresponding letter.
How cool is it that God put his own ABCs in the Bible? Seriously COOL!
The unifying purpose of the 176 stanza’s of this acrostic poem is to magnify God’s law as honorable, useful, and fundamental for all Christians.
The teacher in God’s school often reminds his students that “we cannot keep God’s commands unless we learn them but we learn them in vain if we do not keep them.”
Psalm 119 magnifies God’s law as honorable, useful, and fundamental for all.
Sounds like a pretty great school to me!
Did you know that the Bible contained its own unique version of the ABCs?
If so, then you are well ahead of me on your scholarly journey.
Up until recently, I had no clue what those headings in Psalm 119 meant.
They just looked like gibberish to me.
When I asked the Lord to give me direction in my life and ministry, He led me directly to the ABCs in Psalm 119.
Of course, He wants me to start with the ABCs.
It’s only logical!
But this alphabet differs from the one I learned in my earthly schooling. This is God’s alphabet.
Charles Spurgeon describes Psalm 119 in these words, “This sacred ode is a little Bible, the Scriptures condensed, a mass of Bibline, Holy Writ rewritten in holy emotions and actions.
Blessed are they who can read and understand these saintly aphorisms.”
Have you ever studied the Saint's Alphabet in Psalm 119?
The part that gets me, the concept I can’t seem to wrap my brain around, is this: The author of this Psalm had such limited access to Scripture (think the first five books of the Bible).
Yet, how deeply he esteemed it!
I have unlimited access to the completed volume of God’s Word.
Yet, how little I esteem it!
I am ashamed to admit that I struggle to carve out time to regularly study my Bible.
If God literally had a school here on earth, and I was His student—my report card would be full of tardies, absences, and mediocre grades.
Maybe, this is why I am lagging behind in my studies. Maybe, this is why I’ve not yet become a scholar. Maybe, this is why I suffer from a Spiritual Inferiority Complex.
God’s law is there to protect and guide us, to teach us the way of righteousness, and to prevent us from straying off course.
Yet, we will never experience the benefits unless we set aside time to diligently study and apply the truths of the Bible.
The ABC’s of Psalm 119 taught me that.
Suffering from a Spiritual Inferiority Complex? Maybe it's time to enroll in God's School.
Think back on that person you esteem as a scholar. Do you think they were born with some supernatural depth of knowledge?
Or, do you think they have spent years (decades) of their life studying and applying God’s Word to their lives?
I’ll give you a hintz: they weren’t born with it.
Even if it takes me “a long time” to get to the place where I “know a lot” about God’s Law, I’ve decided to start where I am.
So, the big question is…do you want to carpool?
God’s School is open for enrollment. Jesus Christ paid your tuition.
Start with the ABCs of Psalm 119.
We can do this, together!
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
In my 30 years of following Christ and studying His Word, I have never found a section of scripture that is more active, more penetrating, or more thought-provoking than Psalm 119.
Studying Psalm 119 has changed me, captivated me, and catapulted me into the arms of a loving and merciful God. I believe it can and will do the same for you!
5 quick facts about our Free Psalm 119 Bible Study:
- It’s convenient. The study comes straight to your e-mail each day.
- It’s quick. You can complete the study in less than 15 minutes per day.
- It’s free. And who doesn’t love FREE?!?
- You get rest days. The study follows a five-days-on/two-days-off format.
- You get bonus gifts. We’ve packed the study with lots of digital freebies.
Sign up for the free Psalm 119 Study and invite your friends to join you!
This article was written in August of 2016 by Sarah Koontz. During her sabbatical in 2024, we will be sharing some of our favorite articles and e-mails from the archives with you. Thank you for praying for Sarah and her family as they embark on this beautiful season of Sabbath rest.
