Skip to main content

The Divine GPS: Psalm 25

Tillman Ravine
Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
(from Psalm 25 )

Life has a weird way of throwing us into total chaos.

That's what happened when I used GPS going to my nephew’s wedding. 

A one-hour trip took almost 4 hours mostly because I'm not familiar with GPS resulting in feeling completely disoriented, super anxious, with no idea what to do next.

Elaine took a roadmap from the glove compartment which gave us some clue about what to do next.

Reading these verses from Psalm 25 helped me see a divine roadmap for direction and peace.

In this honest prayer, King David shows us three simple mind shifts to make when we need a breakthrough:

Shift your focus: David starts by praying using verse 1:"To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul." 

When stress hits, we tend to obsess over worst-case scenarios. Trusting God doesn’t mean your problems magically vanish; it just means you choose to focus on God’s presence instead of your panic.


Shift your ambition: David continues praying using verse 4 by asking God to: "Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths." 

Instead of sketching out his own plans and asking God to rubber-stamp them, he keeps a totally open mind. True guidance requires letting go of control.


Shift your confidence: David, remembering that God is good, literally asks in verse 7: "Do not remember the sins of my youth." 

If you feel too broken or unqualified for God to care, don't worry. The Lord guides us because God is good, not because we are perfect.

Verse 9 ends with a beautiful promise: "He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way."

In other words, you don’t have to have direction in your life all figured out, simply follow the One who does.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ruler of All Earthly Kings

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (from Rev. 1:4-8 ) About 17 years ago I wrote a letter to the people in the United Church of Underhill. The purpose of the letter was to explain I was retiring at the end of the Conference Year. I felt the time had come for me personally to move on and for the church to grow with a new pastor. I secured a moving company while the church formed a search committee as we both prepared for the inevitable. This is the nature of the book of Revelation, as recorded in 1:4: “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia.” This is Revelation’s context: it was written for the benefit of particular people at a particular time for their particular situation. John’s letter narrates a drama about God’s imminent invasion of the “kingdom of this world” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Every Christian's Journey

"When he was at the table with them,  he took bread, blessed and broke it,  and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened,  and they recognized him." Luke 24:31,32a To me there there all kinds of road trips. They all have similarities such as destinations and travel experiences. Years ago Elaine and I took a camping trip out West. We drove Utah's Route 12 between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon National Parks. This part of the road trip meant enjoying God's beautiful creation. One of the experiences we still laugh about was the constant daily lunch menu of PB&J sandwiches. Luke's major theme is traveling the Way. In the gospel, Jesus travel TO Jerusalem. In Luke's Acts, the disciples travel FROM Jerusalem proclaiming the Word Empowered by the Spirit. On the Emmaus road trip from Jerusalem, two disciples, probably Cleopas and his wife, experience a stranger's presence. The stranger reveals himself as Jesus by explaining what was said about him in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more