Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
“Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me.”
Psalm 25:4,5
I am a “directionally challenged” person.
By that, I mean I’m not the guy you’d want driving you across the country on a road trip. I get confused and easily turned around. I wholeheartedly thank God for Waze, Apple Maps, Google Maps, and the like, which offer turn-by-turn directions to my destination. I don’t know where I’d be without them…like seriously, I wouldn’t have a fat clue where I was.
In Psalm 25, David doesn’t need directions for a road trip; he needs directions for the road of life. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have an app to tell him where to go. So, he does what we all do when we’re desperate for directions: he prays for guidance.
In his prayer, David does something a little surprising. Not only does he pray for immediate guidance, but he also prays that he would be the kind of person God can guide. In other words, David shows us that if we want God to help guide us from “A” to “B” (and who doesn’t?), then we need to remain guidable. And guidable people possess a certain posture of heart and quality of character.
Let’s briefly examine the heart and character of the guidable:
SURRENDERED
“Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4,5).
Sometimes, we just want God to rubber-stamp our plans, but David is fully surrendered to God’s plan.
Three times in verses four and five, he expresses His desire to do things God’s way: “Your ways,” “Your paths,” and “Your truth.”
In our pleas for guidance, there must come a point when we deliberately lay down our way of doing things and submit to His way of doing things. We must stop fighting with God and start yielding to Him. More than anything else, we must desire His purposes, His timing, and His methods above our own. So, if God says, “Go,” we go, even if, in our flesh, we would rather stay. Or vice versa. If God calls us to stay, we stay, though we’d prefer to go.
Staying surrendered means His way comes before our way in any and every situation.
So, the question is: Do you have a surrendered heart like David’s?
Or are you resisting His way and insisting on your way?
TEACHABLE
“Teach me, for You are my God and my Savior” (Psalm 25:5).
Ask any parent, coach, teacher, boss, etc., and they’ll tell you they love someone who’s teachable, someone who soaks up instruction like a sponge. The Lord is the same way. He really can’t guide ‘know-it-alls’ because they won’t listen. He guides those who are teachable, willing to unlearn old patterns of behavior, and eager to learn new ones.
What is the Lord currently trying to teach you?
Are you willing to listen and learn from Him?
HUMBLE
“He guides the humble in what is right” (Psalm 25:9).
Like a toddler in the backseat telling his parents how to drive a car, prideful people like to tell God how to run His universe, or at least their personal universe. On the other hand, people who possess humility don’t overestimate their capabilities. They have a proper view of self and recognize their place before Almighty God, refusing to allow their egos to get in the way. You see, God loves to lead those who are willing to be led. And humility paves the way for God’s leadership.
None of us perfectly embody these qualities. That’s why we praise God for Jesus. With tremendous humility, He lived perfectly surrendered to His Father’s will. Our job is to stay as close to Him as we can.
Remember, Jesus is a faithful guide. He doesn’t leave His children to wander aimlessly but has promised to lead us every step of the way.
While we’re primarily concerned with where we’re going on the journey, Jesus is primarily concerned about who we’re becoming on the journey. After all, we’re of no use to God if we arrive at our destination resistant to His ways, unwilling to learn, and filled with pride.
I promise that if you remain surrendered, teachable, and humble, the Lord will guide you exactly where you need to go.
DIG DEEPER
Read “Everyone Needs Guidance” by Bryant Wright
