Psalm 25:4-5 Show me thy ways O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Oh Friends, Bruh David couldn’t say it any better! In this Psalm He’s asking for guidance and protection; taking his cue from Moses, when he prayed for God’s presence. ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight…’ (Ex.33:13) Yes Friends, when we’re unsure, lost or misguided, the best option is to approach the throne of grace with a bold humility and ask for help. The Lord will never refuse it, though we may not not like His answers, or the paths along which He wants us to tread. Hn! Here’s a good example. For the past few months I’ve been having some knee problems, x-rays and ultra sound didn’t show any real damage, but since I’m not wealthy, or a high profile athlete, it took me almost three months to get an M.R.I. and to see a knee specialist. I’m doing that today. But the knee has been holding up fairly well, I even felt it might be getting better, until yesterday, when it just went all haywire again, without any good reason or warning. Obviously I was a tad angry, and disappointed and cried out to the Lord for an answer, guidance, direction, something that would make me understand. But I got no reply. However, later on, while reading the Daily Bread Devotional for my mother, I came across these words. ‘Our task is to take hold of God’s grace to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary. In time, he will ‘perfect, establish, strengthen and settle’ us. We must ‘wait on the Lord’ and ‘be of good courage.’ Hn! I just chuckled, shook my head in resignation and said, ‘Awright Lord, I got the message.’ So Friends, He does answer us, just not always how we expect or like. That’s one of the ways the Lord chooses to test our spiritual growth. I wasn’t happy with the answer, but I at least understood why. Oh Friends, be careful what you ask for, cause you might just get it and find that it’s much more than you bargained for. So before we jump up and ask God to show us His ways, teach us His paths and lead us in His truth, cause He’s the God of our salvation, and our hope is forever in Him, think seriously about it, for to learn the Lord’s truth and walk in His ways is no easy task. Basically it’s the way Jesus lived His life on earth, shouldering all His burdens without too many complaints. Don’t worry Friends, the Lord knows we can never be perfect like Jesus, but He can still be a hard taskmaster cause He’s always seeking to bring out the best in us. Ah people, I know whereof I speak, for years ago I naively asked Him for the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Samson and the patience of Job. Wow! The things you do when you’re young and foolish eh! Not even one, but all three! The Lord must have smiled, pleased with my request, but wondered at my naivety and said, ‘You really don’t know what you’re asking for nuh son. But any way, here goes.’ And Friends, looking back now, I’ve no doubt that some of my experiences in the last few years have been a direct consequence of that audacious request. But Friends, I can vouch, that through all the hard times, and there’ve been many, our God has never let me down. When He’s allowed disappointment into my life, He’s always provided some way of easing the pain. Anytime He’s closed one door abruptly in my face, He’s opened another in due course. Occasionally the timing’s been real critical, but He’s always come through, right on time. He’s the Master of timing. Yes people, when we ask the Lord to teach us His ways and fill us with His truth, we’ve got to be prepared for some rough spots along the way. There will be lots of good times, but also a fair amount of adversity and tests. And there’s no set time for them, they can crop up at any time, in many different ways, we just have to be prepared. But having said that, I can assure you, that whatever the Lord brings you to, if you have faith and patience, He will bring you through it, and usually better off too. He will never give us more than we can bear, cause He knows all our strengths and weaknesses. And He’s promised to always walk beside us. Oh Friends, what a wonderful God we serve! So let’s say, like Bruh David: ‘Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ (Ps.143:8) Much LOVE!…walking with the Lord isn’t always easy…but it’s always interesting…
Oh Friends, Bruh David couldn’t say it any better! In this Psalm He’s asking for guidance and protection; taking his cue from Moses, when he prayed for God’s presence. ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight…’ (Ex.33:13) Yes Friends, when we’re unsure, lost or misguided, the best option is to approach the throne of grace with a bold humility and ask for help. The Lord will never refuse it, though we may not not like His answers, or the paths along which He wants us to tread. Hn! Here’s a good example. For the past few months I’ve been having some knee problems, x-rays and ultra sound didn’t show any real damage, but since I’m not wealthy, or a high profile athlete, it took me almost three months to get an M.R.I. and to see a knee specialist. I’m doing that today. But the knee has been holding up fairly well, I even felt it might be getting better, until yesterday, when it just went all haywire again, without any good reason or warning. Obviously I was a tad angry, and disappointed and cried out to the Lord for an answer, guidance, direction, something that would make me understand. But I got no reply. However, later on, while reading the Daily Bread Devotional for my mother, I came across these words. ‘Our task is to take hold of God’s grace to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary. In time, he will ‘perfect, establish, strengthen and settle’ us. We must ‘wait on the Lord’ and ‘be of good courage.’ Hn! I just chuckled, shook my head in resignation and said, ‘Awright Lord, I got the message.’ So Friends, He does answer us, just not always how we expect or like. That’s one of the ways the Lord chooses to test our spiritual growth. I wasn’t happy with the answer, but I at least understood why. Oh Friends, be careful what you ask for, cause you might just get it and find that it’s much more than you bargained for. So before we jump up and ask God to show us His ways, teach us His paths and lead us in His truth, cause He’s the God of our salvation, and our hope is forever in Him, think seriously about it, for to learn the Lord’s truth and walk in His ways is no easy task. Basically it’s the way Jesus lived His life on earth, shouldering all His burdens without too many complaints. Don’t worry Friends, the Lord knows we can never be perfect like Jesus, but He can still be a hard taskmaster cause He’s always seeking to bring out the best in us. Ah people, I know whereof I speak, for years ago I naively asked Him for the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Samson and the patience of Job. Wow! The things you do when you’re young and foolish eh! Not even one, but all three! The Lord must have smiled, pleased with my request, but wondered at my naivety and said, ‘You really don’t know what you’re asking for nuh son. But any way, here goes.’ And Friends, looking back now, I’ve no doubt that some of my experiences in the last few years have been a direct consequence of that audacious request. But Friends, I can vouch, that through all the hard times, and there’ve been many, our God has never let me down. When He’s allowed disappointment into my life, He’s always provided some way of easing the pain. Anytime He’s closed one door abruptly in my face, He’s opened another in due course. Occasionally the timing’s been real critical, but He’s always come through, right on time. He’s the Master of timing. Yes people, when we ask the Lord to teach us His ways and fill us with His truth, we’ve got to be prepared for some rough spots along the way. There will be lots of good times, but also a fair amount of adversity and tests. And there’s no set time for them, they can crop up at any time, in many different ways, we just have to be prepared. But having said that, I can assure you, that whatever the Lord brings you to, if you have faith and patience, He will bring you through it, and usually better off too. He will never give us more than we can bear, cause He knows all our strengths and weaknesses. And He’s promised to always walk beside us. Oh Friends, what a wonderful God we serve! So let’s say, like Bruh David: ‘Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ (Ps.143:8) Much LOVE!…walking with the Lord isn’t always easy…but it’s always interesting…
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