Lord, Be My Guide

Psalm 25:1-14

When times are difficult and our problems are mounting, to whom or to what do we turn to for strength and support?  When our enemies are seemingly getting the upper hand, who do we turn to?  Also, when when we are confused and are in need of direction and instruction, to whom do we seek our guidance from?  Our answer to these questions will make a major difference.  King David faced all of these problems in his life, and he found that the only true help came from Yahweh.

David learned throughout his life that he was totally dependent on God.  As followers of God, we need to trust Him in the face of all of our troubles, and also in the face of all of our troublemakers.   If we are living for the Lord, His enemies should be our enemies.  David didn’t want his enemies to overtake him.  They opposed God and His ways, and if they succeeded, then people might think that serving God was futile (vs. 2).

In verse 5, King David prayed that God would lead him in His truth.  We need to know God’s truth, which is found in His Word, the Bible.  We need to know His Word, so His Word can get into us.  Partial knowledge is not good, as it can lead to serious problems.

David prays to God, asking Him to remember His mercies, and to not remember his past sins (vs. 6-7).  We know that God is not in danger of ever forgetting anything.  But as humans, we still pray to God for Him to “remember” us.  We still ask Him to “remember” His promises and His love for us.  We also pray that He will forget, not remember, our sins, which God promises He will do.

Just as David called himself in verse 8, we are all sinners.  He did not dismiss any of his sins, as people so often do today, saying that they were just “mistaken choices”.  No, he called them sins, and came to God in repentance, for forgiveness, and would begin again to relearn God’s ways.

All of us have faced times in our lives when we needed the guidance and leading of someone more intelligent or knowledgeable than us.  David knew to turn to Yahweh, his God, for that (vs. 12).  He is the One who we should want to be guided by.  How can we receive guidance from the Lord?   The Bible should be our number one source for guidance.  Seek Him, learn from His Word, and obey His commands.  Another thing is to try and keep our prayer line to God unencumbered and clear from known sin.  God also wants us to be patient and to keep praying.  He will make His will known in His own time. This is the way to be open for God’s guidance.  Some paths that the Lord may lead us on can be rough, but we need to trust in the Lord that the end will be well worth it.

Verse 12 and 14 also speaks of fearing the Lord.  Fearing the Lord means recognizing God as holy, almighty, righteous, pure, omniscient, and omnipotent.  When we see and acknowledge this, and who we are, we fall at His feet in humble worship.

Inscribed on Big Ben, the clock in London, is the poem lyrics that go with the famous tune.  “All through this hour, Lord be my guide; And by Thy power, no foot shall slide.”  This is a good reminder for God to be our guide, each and every hour of every day.