August 24
Scripture focus: You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That's right—you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me. Psalm 119:1-8 (The Message)
I am convinced that as we figure out who we are and what God created us for, we will find ourselves less inclined to swerve off course and partake of the destructive patterns that make up our own unique patterns of hurts, habits and hang-ups.
But each step has its own uncertainty. The psalmist understands that commitment to the path doesn't automatically result in follow-through. He realizes that following God's ways are a blessing, but apparently he is old enough to realize that good intentions don't guarantee a steady gait.
Even with full out commitment to stepping as God speaks, verse eight allows us to peak into the heart of this writer. Evidently, he trusts and he doubts.
Don't ever walk off and leave me.
I find his cry oddly comforting. It helps me feel as if I am not a weirdo, or alone in my messy mind. I trust God and believe that staying on course brings blessings. I also realize that I unwittingly go off on my own sometimes, leaving the path set before me and ending up in a thicket. This really irritates me about myself.
The spiritual life isn't set in stone. Like a healthy boundary, it breathes. There are doors and windows, opportunities for input and course correction.
It's okay to tell the truth about our believing...and the ways we both trust and doubt.
Recommended reading: 1 Chronicles 1-3
2 comments:
I tend to be a bit (a lot) impulsive at times. If you knew how much money I have to pay back for my student loans, you'd know what I was talking about. Through each loan I thought I was doing God's will, but I finally realized that God's will would not bring me to such a stressful point that I was ready to once again "hide from the world" and screw things up again. Now, I've slowed down enough to be able to listen, hear correctly and wait.
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