Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Psalm 25

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
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.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me!
Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
-Psalm 25

This passage is one I have been mediating and thinking about for a couple of weeks now. I think it captures many of the things I struggle with as well as things that bring hope.

Sometimes we confuse the words "trust" and "expectations" with God. I have noticed just how much I have come to just expect things from God. There is no form of seeking Him in some matters. Anger forms when I am not given what I expect. Bitterness can even start to creep in. If you ask me though, I would say I was trusting God to provide those things. Trust is different though. Trust is letting go. There is no resentment because with trust, things will come out how they should be. Trust is not easy.

I have always been provided for. Even in the most dire of circumstances in my life, what I need and so much more has been given to me. Why do I have such a hard time trusting?

While talking with some friends, we discussed how to let God have the desires of our heart. As silly as it sounds, most of us agreed that we don't pray for some things because we are afraid it is going to be one of those things we have to chalk up to "God's timing" or "his perfect will". Upon further discussion though, we all realized that eventually those "God's timing" and "his perfect will" things turn out better than we imagined. Once again, why do we continue to assume that we are not going to get the desires of our hearts?

What a devoted writer David was... his struggles, his praises, and his desperation for the Lord.

This is a passage I will continue to think on...

1 comment:

  1. It is a wonderful passage. Thank you for typing it out for refreshing all of our minds as we read these words. I love you. (And by the way, I, have learned to NEVER pray for patience. I don't want more trials!)

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