“ For you are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.”
Psalm 86:10
I tell you, it is so profitable to spend time “gazing at the treasures” by meditating on the Word of God. After several weeks in Psalm 86, it still continues to yield new insights. Verses 11 and 12 especially spoke to me.
“Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in your truth….” That is a dangerous prayer! It is a serious commitment: “Show me what you want, Lord, and I’ll do it!” It means a promise to do things His way, to be teachable, to be kind and humble when I feel like being grumpy, doing my own thing and being left alone. It means praising God when everything falls down around me. It means ignoring my feelings and instead acting on what His Word says. It means, in short, walking in His Truth rather than in my own perceptions and desires.
David realizes that even after he knows God’s way, he can’t obey in his own strength, so he continues his prayer with, “…give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Our hearts are naturally so divided and deceptive. Only as God works to help us focus our affections on Him, helping us see His wonderful greatness can we really fear and obey Him well.
And the results of such surrender and follow through? “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” True obedience always leads to worship, and true worship leads to wholehearted obedience.
I am thankful that the Lord gives spiritual insight to understand things from His point of view, and then the grace to act in accordance with that Truth. To be able to live this way, we must commit ourselves in the same sense that David did (“I will walk in your truth,”) for then we will be able to appropriate that grace. Ah, I have so much to learn, so much growing to do! Praise God for His great patience and persistence with me.
Prayer: “Lord, I confess how often I am half-hearted in following you. Unite my heart to fear your name, help me to obey you rather than to obey myself. Amen”
–From the devotional book EDIFIED
