Guided!

Guided!

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness 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. Psalms 143:8 KJV

These must have been tough times for David. The words of the chapter where this verse is taken from contain some pretty strong words: "the enemy has persecuted my soul"; "he has smitten my life"; "he has made me dwell in darkness". Now, as harsh as this may sound, David's experience isn't so much different from what many are passing through now. It appears that the world is conspiring against its inhabitants; people are dying everywhere you turn. It is quite easy to become depressed and despondent, just as the Psalmist was initially, but there is a lesson in today's extract: I have to choose my reaction to the reality around me.

Between the despondency of the early verses and today's extract, we find these words: I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. It matters what you feed: your fear of the reality or the faith in the God who can change your reality. David looked back over the past works of God, and had no doubt that the God who had brought him this far was able to bring him to the end safely. Do I take time to review all that God has done for me in the past? Do I even have any record of the mighty things God has done for me? How do I encourage myself in God when everything is going to pieces around me, if I cannot even recall anything He has done? It is a dangerous thing to only focus on mgy needs or what I can get out of God for the moment; God is the same yesterday, today and forever; as He did mighty things in the past, so is He able to do mighty things in the present. It is that link that makes today's extract really stand out. 

If I only concerned about what I can get, how does God relay his lovingkindness to me so I can hear it? The word 'hear' is used here, which could only mean that God's lovingkindness is something I can hear; not just feel. It becomes so tangible that men who come in contact with me can see, touch and also hear when God speaks in and through my life. The timing is also important: 'in the morning'; just to set the day on the right path. Before the hustle and bustle of the day starts, I get guidance on the things that matter to God the most, and then I pursue after these things. He is also willing to guide me on the right path for me. Not everything is permissible for a child of God; at all times, divine guidance is important. I do not know what lies ahead, but God is able to chart my course through the Red Sea, yet I will get to my Canaan. 

Before I go all confessing and claiming the benefits, read this from today's extract: In thee do I trust; I lift up my soul unto thee. That's what gives me grace to make a claim. I can't be trusting in man and then demand that God come through for me. I can't lift my soul to idols in private and expect God to validate me in public. And this is the clincher: God is not man that can be bought with external devotion or deceit which is empty of sincerity. I can fool man with external pious devotion; the creator of the heart cannot be deceived. If I will lay my hands on all that God has in store, I have to come to Him on His own terms, not mine. The Psalmist knew this God and his heart showed. What would God say about my heart today? God's time of favour is here.