“O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God!” Have you ever given your life to God? I mean really given it? It’s a scary thing to do. Give control away, that is. Yet, giving my life to God was one of the best things I ever did. I struggle at times with taking it back thinking I know best. Sometimes I get anxious for things to happen and force things before it’s time.
When we truly let go and let God, it is then we can feel peace. The next line about being disgraced was curious to me at first. Don’t we all have fears of looking bad or being judged? It makes sense that the psalmist would add this in so quickly. We may know a bit of what it feels like to be shamed or disgraced because of our faithfulness. If we stay true to God, we will never be disgraced in his eyes, no matter what the world may tell us.
I love verses 4 and 5, “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” I look back at times in my life when I have prayed this as a prayer for guidance. In every case, the path has been cleared for me. I don’t know why it amazes me so much when that happens. We should always be asking for God’s direction in our lives being sure he will show us.
There are so many nuggets here in this psalm. I just want to thank God from the bottom of my heart for teaching me and leading me through life. I’m still working on doing a better job of being taught. I, like the psalmist, had a bit of a rebellious youth. It’s like I had the good side that most people saw, but then the naughty side I tried to hide. We aren’t invisible to God. “The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.”
I humble myself before the Lord. Still a sinner, always a sinner. I may have sins I’m not even aware of and those are the scariest. In verse 12 it asks, “Who are those who fear the Lord?” What does that look like? How do we fear God? Perhaps it’s being in awe of God. He loves us and saves us, forgives us and leads us. Let that sink in. How can we not have a reverence for God that pleases him?
Our lives are not going to be perfect even if we follow God’s path for us. Struggles will come. Even the psalmist cries out about it. What we can learn from this example is not to run from our pain, but rather turn to God and ask for rescue. How many times have we, or others we know, turned away from God in those moments of struggle thinking we’ve been left behind?
We need to stand firm to temptation. We will encounter situations that will tempt us to forget our alliance with God and embrace the world. It happens to me every day with all the “spiritual” talk that surrounds me. God is the spirit I rely on. That Spirit lives in me. Even in our business, we are so careful not to make promises we can’t keep like many others people in our industry. These words sum it up pretty well. “May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.”
Ponder today what it is that you are looking to God for guidance about. Ask him, “Teach me, oh Lord.”
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father – I call out to you for help today. You are merciful and mighty and I thank you for being king of my life. Forgive me for always trying to control things and being caught up in pleasing others. You are the only one I need to please. Lead me on the path you have for me, I am putting my hope in you.
