Bible Reading: Psalm 25:4-9
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.
The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.
A Reflection:
Psalm 25 is another psalm of King David, probably written towards the end of his life. At the start of the psalm, he refers to his enemies who seek to triumph over him, possibly referring to the rebellion staged by Absalom, one of his sons, and here David asks that God does not remember ‘the rebellious sins of my youth’.
I am sure there are times in all of our lives when we have felt that we had enemies who sought to triumph over us, and other times when we too could identify ‘sins of our youth’ (or even recent past) that we would prefer to forget.
I wonder how we handle these times. Can we bring them before God and surrender them to his compassion and mercy? Can we trust him to remember us, not according to our failings, but according to his unfailing love as shown to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus for us?
But David doesn’t just look back on his life. With the assurance that his sins are forgiven, and that he has forgiven his enemies, he also looks forward with hope. And, as he looks forward with hope, he seeks God’s guidance on the paths that he will take.
Show me, lead me, teach me are words that display David’s dependence on God for the way forwards in life. They are words of humility that recognise that God has plans and purposes for us that are there for us to discover, whatever stage of life we are at.
What decisions are you going to make today or in the future? Will you surrender them to God in humility, and allow him to lead you and to guide you to discover his plans for you?
And what about the times we make the wrong choices, the times we take the wrong path? In his grace, like Satnav, ‘he shows the proper path to those who go astray’.
Just as we can know God's grace for the past, so we can know God's grace for the future.
Pray:
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. Amen
His mercy is more
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