Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground ~ Psalm 143:10

 

I talked previously about how we are brought to life by our Creator God, both in the physical, and in the spiritual, which leads us on our journey. This journey progresses through our daily living, which leads us toward our eternal home. It is a day-by-day experience in which we grow and are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. What it is not is something we can do on our own. We cannot become more like Christ without His Spirit within us. Transformation is brought only by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have a little grand-niece, and I frequently receive images or little videos of her and the new accomplishments she is making in her young life. Some are funny to watch and hear about, and then there are other days when I know she stretches the patience of the adults around her. She is learning both about the rules and obedience, and how to stretch the limits as she learns and grows. I think we do that with God, too. He is our loving parent, and there are times when we need Him to be firm with us, to teach us, to lead us in His way. As loving children, I believe we do desire to please Him. Here, the psalmist is appealing to know what it is he should do to please God as he lives in obedience. He calls God’s Spirit “good” for he knows the Spirit of God is wise, reliable, and He will not lead the psalmist in the wrong direction. The psalmist calls the right direction of living “level ground”, a place where he can walk without danger, and where, if there is an enemy about, he will be visible and the journey then safely traversed. What is interesting is that he is not praying for God to keep him safe, but to lead him through whatever is ahead. He is asking to have a right heart before God in all the circumstances of life. We too must always seek to be taught obedience to God’s will, for that is what is best for us.  
Pastor Julia

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh...
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t...
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the...
Read more