1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. —Psalm 25:1-5
If you've never been at the place where the trials are so significant that you don't even know what to do, then you won't understand Psalm 25. David is pleading, God, I'm not seeing it. I know You have ways, but I have to learn them because everything that's happening makes no sense to me at all. A big part of trusting is learning this truth: trust must extend past understanding.
In August of '09 I taught Psalm 25 in my church. 98 percent of our people knew nothing about what I was facing and dealing with, but my circumstances sure caused me to understand verse 5 where David says:"Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation."The word salvation can have many meanings in Scripture. Most literally, it means to “make wide.” It's contrasted with a person who is in a narrow place full of trouble and distress. I'm stuck here. I can't move. It's too tight, God. It's closing in. It's very dark. And he's saying here: You're the God who gets me out. That's what he's claiming by faith. If you've ever been in the I-need-God-to-get-me-out-of-this place, that's what this is about. I wait for You. No one but You can get me out of this. You are the God of my salvation.
Well, when you say that you're waiting, that means that you're accepting God's timing and the wisdom of it. You're confessing this: I'm not fussing. I'm not fuming. I'm not fixing. You’re not thinking in the back of your mind, Oh, I could do a few things to get me out of this situation. I've got some insights. I could say some things. I could get some balls rolling. I could take hold of this if I had to.
Waiting means you’re no longer relying on what you can figure out or even understand. It is deliberately relying on God through prayer and flat-out trust. This is way beyond me, Lord. I’m leaving it in Your hands. I know I don’t have to understand in order to trust You. I'm waiting on You for my salvation; You have to get me out of this narrow place.
Journal
O Heavenly Father, I confess that it’s not easy to wait. I want to plant this morning and reap later on in the day—even though all of Creation reminds me Our Creator wove waiting into the way things are! Thank You that I don’t have to understand much in order to trust You. Thank You for proving Yourself trustworthy in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
-James MacDonald-
I really can relate to what he wrote. I have not been able to "understand" why I am in these narrow places (both literally and figuratively!) These narrow places seem to close in on me and I often wonder why and expect a detailed explanation including when the narrow places will cease. I am choosing now to Trust WITHOUT Understanding.... although some days are much easier to do that than others, I am making an effort to trust that the Lord has a great plan and that this is the path to that great plan.
If you've never been at the place where the trials are so significant that you don't even know what to do, then you won't understand Psalm 25. David is pleading, God, I'm not seeing it. I know You have ways, but I have to learn them because everything that's happening makes no sense to me at all. A big part of trusting is learning this truth: trust must extend past understanding.
In August of '09 I taught Psalm 25 in my church. 98 percent of our people knew nothing about what I was facing and dealing with, but my circumstances sure caused me to understand verse 5 where David says:"Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation."The word salvation can have many meanings in Scripture. Most literally, it means to “make wide.” It's contrasted with a person who is in a narrow place full of trouble and distress. I'm stuck here. I can't move. It's too tight, God. It's closing in. It's very dark. And he's saying here: You're the God who gets me out. That's what he's claiming by faith. If you've ever been in the I-need-God-to-get-me-out-of-this place, that's what this is about. I wait for You. No one but You can get me out of this. You are the God of my salvation.
Well, when you say that you're waiting, that means that you're accepting God's timing and the wisdom of it. You're confessing this: I'm not fussing. I'm not fuming. I'm not fixing. You’re not thinking in the back of your mind, Oh, I could do a few things to get me out of this situation. I've got some insights. I could say some things. I could get some balls rolling. I could take hold of this if I had to.
Waiting means you’re no longer relying on what you can figure out or even understand. It is deliberately relying on God through prayer and flat-out trust. This is way beyond me, Lord. I’m leaving it in Your hands. I know I don’t have to understand in order to trust You. I'm waiting on You for my salvation; You have to get me out of this narrow place.
Journal
- Where are the “narrow places” in my life and how am I waiting on the Lord regarding those matters?
- What have I learned about waiting?
O Heavenly Father, I confess that it’s not easy to wait. I want to plant this morning and reap later on in the day—even though all of Creation reminds me Our Creator wove waiting into the way things are! Thank You that I don’t have to understand much in order to trust You. Thank You for proving Yourself trustworthy in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
-James MacDonald-
I really can relate to what he wrote. I have not been able to "understand" why I am in these narrow places (both literally and figuratively!) These narrow places seem to close in on me and I often wonder why and expect a detailed explanation including when the narrow places will cease. I am choosing now to Trust WITHOUT Understanding.... although some days are much easier to do that than others, I am making an effort to trust that the Lord has a great plan and that this is the path to that great plan.
The journal entries that I wrote following reading this blurb from him were insightful.... God IS doing a work in my life and He will come through for us. We are continuing to be faithful to Him despite all our circumstances and frustrations. We choose to keep our eyes on Him as our Savior, Redeemer, Lord, Provider, Father, Almighty God!
Another insightful book I am reading is called "1000 Gifts" and it is a great read. I'm only on chapter 3, but I am discovering that all these books/devotionals/etc that are coming my way seem to have similar themes. I am soaking it all in the reminding myself of the things I am learning when I am having a rough day with our situation. Once again, it is NOT easy... in fact, it's one of the biggest struggles I've gone through in my life, but I am hopeful and THANKFUL.
Living a life of thankfulness when you have every reason to be ungrateful about certain things is challenging, but would I want it any different? I want to live a life of thankfulness and because we live in this world, life is not going to always go the way I want it to go....so therefore, I need to learn to be thankful in all circumstances, all situations, and in all ways despite outside or inside influences.
Thankfulness.... perfect timing for this week with Thanksgiving. I am challenging myself to write down everything I am thankful for, even the small things, things that bring me joy or make me smile. I want to focus on being thankful and joyful.
Thankfulness.... more to come!
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