WHO LEADS YOU?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray.

In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly. For You are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with You, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence. You hate all who do wrong; You destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful You, Lord, detest. But I, by your great love, can come into Your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.

Lead me, Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies—make Your way straight before me. Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies. Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against You. But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

Surely, Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s a new day. God has once again blessed us with the opportunity to rise and serve Him.

But now what? Where does the day go from here? Who will dictate what we do?

I sense that many people have a plan already once they get up. Maybe they have set that plan before they went to sleep the day before or maybe they are more spontaneous and will do whatever they feel like doing on the fly. Maybe their plan is somewhat set for them by their work or family. Sometimes our plans are dictated by life events that have a knack of changing even our best laid plans.

Indeed, there is no shortage of things that control our days. But how often do we start our day by invoking the Lord to be our guide?

I’m afraid we don’t do it enough. In fact, we have a tendency to lead ourselves around life, only consulting God when things get tough or difficult or confusing.

Sound familiar?

Maybe if we conferred with God ahead of time before we took our first steps into the day, we could avoid finding ourselves in difficult circumstances in the first place.

Consider the words of David in the 5th Psalm. We know David was under siege from many enemies during his rule. As we saw in the 3rd Psalm, he was even in danger from his own son Absalom who deceitfully conspired to kill his father and take the throne of Jerusalem. But David was protected and shielded by the Lord.

Why?

Because he learned to let the Lord lead him.

Look at the scriptures. David says the following to the Lord:

“Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly.”

David didn’t surge ahead into the day on his own. No, he called upon the Lord in prayer. The Lord heard David’s voice in the morning. In some cases, his cry was in lament as he cried for help. But still other times, David raised his voice in praise and thanksgiving to God. Whether in good times or bad, David got it. He understood that the very One who allowed him to rise each day would also lead him through the day ahead.

You see, David didn’t just raise a prayer to God and then get on with things. No, he lifted his prayers to God detailing his requests and then he waited for God’s guidance and did so expectantly. David knew that the Lord would answer his prayers. This is why he was so expectant.

Friends, are we like this? Are we patient enough – are we trusting enough – to raise our prayers before God and then wait patiently in eager expectance, trusting He will answer. We can learn a lot about living life in obedience and faith in God through David.

Yes, David trusted God would listen and answer prayers. He saw God as who He was, the Almighty Creator and Maker of all things. He saw Him as a God who was to be respected and revered. He also saw God as a God of love and grace and mercy – a God who not only provided life but a God who by his love allowed him the freedom to worship Him.

Look back to the scriptures. David proclaimed:

“I, by your great love, can come into Your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.”

We should give thanks that we can come freely into the house of God and worship Him in reverence. He invites us into the church, His house, and He blesses us through His Songs, Word and Spirit. And we’re not simply limited to Sunday. Every day is a day to worship God, to enter into communion with Him in song, word, and Spirit. The more we worship Him, the stronger our relationship becomes and the more we allow the Lord to lead us.

For after David talks about reverently worshiping God, he asks the Lord to lead him in righteousness. For all of us can walk through life but how do we know we’re doing it right? How do we know we’re living in a way that God wants?

Friends, there’s only one way to live right and that’s to allow God to lead us in righteousness. We shouldn’t try and figure out for ourselves what’s right. We shouldn’t ask our families and friends either. We shouldn’t seek any counsel outside of God’s. For who will ever be able to perfectly advise us as to how live righteously outside of the One who IS perfectly righteous. Indeed, why would we ever go anywhere else for counsel?

Can you see what living like David does for us?

We don’t start our day without God. We worship Him in reverence, acknowledging His love for us that allows us to bow before Him through His mercy and grace. And we seek His counsel always, allowing God and God alone to lead us in righteousness.

The end result?

We find ourselves relying in God for everything and, in doing so, we take refuge in Him. This is David’s wish for all in this Psalm, that we all would take refuge in the Lord and realize gladness and joy in life as we dwell in the peace and comfort of His protection.

For surely, God does bless the righteous, surrounding them with His favor.

Isn’t this where everyone should want to be? Is this where you are?

The good news is that God is waiting to lead anyone in righteousness who, like David, chooses to follow His lead.

He’s only an expectant prayer away.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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