Psalm 27 Part 4
As we come to the last 4 verses I have been continually impacted by this psalm. Verse 10 says: “Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies”. This verse expresses a significant truth, when David’s enemy came he did not cry out for his enemies to be removed, instead, he asked the Lord to teach him His way. This statement expresses a great truth and warns against relying on past experiences for a ‘now’ solution. The bible warns against relying on our own understanding. There is a danger to us when we rely on what we previously experienced in the past. When we look at David’s life there were many times when he experienced the greatness of God in his life but he did not rely on those past experiences to deal with the new situation. He cried out to the Lord “Teach me your way, O Lord”. I cannot overemphasize the importance of having a daily time with the Lord so we can hear what He is saying now – at this time of my life we are experiencing something that I have never experienced before in my lifetime. While I have experienced the greatness of God many times the Lord must teach me His way in this new environment. The next thing that David requested from the Lord was “to be led in a smooth path”, this so astonishing because David did not want his enemy to be removed, all he wanted was that the noise and appearance of the enemy to not affect how he lived his life – he described God’s way as a smooth path, a path on which he could enjoy and relax with his Lord. This is such a wonderful way to live. Now we come to a verse that has had a profound effect on me over the years on the way that I have experienced living with Jesus. Verse 13 says: “I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. The truth of this verse has been a foundation on which I have built my confidence in the Lord. The devil goes to great lengths to persuade us that while on earth we have to endure our Christian experience, it is only when we die we will be better off. While it is true being with Jesus in heaven will be fantastic, this should not be our motivation for living with Jesus today. I am so glad that I can join with David and declare that what I experience day by day is so great and continues to get better. As I look back over my lifetime there have been so many blessings that I have received and continue to receive. It is so important to know and experience that God is the God of the present. It is so good to live with Jesus every day. The final verse says: “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”. It is so important to understand the meaning of the word ‘wait’, it means ‘To bind together ’ – when I bind myself to the Lord He gives me the courage to face life’s situations and I can experience regularly His strength in my life. Today choose to bind yourself to the Lord and you will experience His goodness every day.
This is All SO true Ian- thank you for sharing- also my life deeply affected by this verse- I absolutely would Have given up Hope except that I believed I WOULD see God’s Goodness whilst still here- He often returned me to this verse to remind me- my life was not going to end yet!