“Teach Me Your Ways” - Psalm 27 (Day 4)
Yesterday, we encountered a once confident David experiencing a dark night of the soul - the Lord felt hidden and inactive, leading to David’s lament. He asks God to hear his cries and not hide His presence. The pleading from David continues but shifts to a desperate prayer for guidance -” teach me Your way, O Lord.” For God to be our teacher, we must posture ourselves as a humble student willing to listen, receive, and act upon His wisdom, correction, and guidance. So, before we begin, I would like to provide a space for us to echo David’s prayer, that God would not only teach us His ways, but that we would possess the courage to walk in them as students of His grace, forgiveness, and love.
To understand what drives David's prayer for guidance, we must first go back to the beginning of Psalm 27 - to sense the trouble He has faced and continues to experience. We'll witness confidence replaced with doubt, yet what remains in the background is David's dogged dependency on God. I invite you to follow along in your Bible as we read together.
Psalm 27:1-10 says this:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
The highs and the lows of life. The good and the bad. Times of confidence and moments of doubt. Through it all, David tried to keep His eyes on God. Recognizing he couldn’t walk in faithful obedience leaning on his power and perspective, in today’s passage David prays to God for direction and guidance.
Psalm 27:11-14 says this:
Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
"Teach me your ways." Four short, powerful words that take a lifetime for us to embrace fully. Following Jesus and recognizing Him as the ultimate teacher means we position ourselves as the always learning student. Scripture is crystal clear about God's ways being higher, God's patience being longer, and God's joy being deeper than we can even think or imagine. But, unfortunately, we are prone to believe our ways are best. As a result, we tend to project our will upon God by placing our expectations on him. We reason that if we were a loving God, we'd do it this way or that way. When God doesn't live up to our expectations, we panic, give up, or try harder to take control of the situation. Unfortunately, the only time when many of us worry about hearing God's voice is when we are desperate. Things happen all around us. God is always doing something, but we are often so busy with getting our way that we miss it and lose sight of the path. In the midst of the unexpected, we must listen, surrender, and trust. Teach me your ways isn't a one-time prayer but a request that should define our lives - moment by moment, every second of our days. Living according to God's ways requires that God teach us and lead us in his ways, displayed through our dependence and faith. For us to embrace his ways we must loosen the tight grip we have on our own.
Take a moment and consider…WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LET GO OF TO FULLY EMBRACE DAVID’S PRAYER, “TEACH ME YOUR WAYS”?
Let’s read today’s passage slowly one more time:
Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Embracing his ways isn't for the faint of heart. God leads us to places that demand deeper dependency and a ruthless faith. David acknowledged that his potential to lose heart and the temptation to give up was ever-present. But, David didn't because he trusted that by remaining faithful, he would witness God's faithfulness to him in this life and the one to come. Trying times present us with an opportunity to walk in the security of what we believe about God. So, how do we continue to trust in God's goodness in the difficult spot known as the in-between? We find the answer in David's final words of Psalm 27: WE WAIT. They serve as the passage's exclamation point, a rallying cry, and last charge. One can picture David uttering these words to himself while looking in the mirror or to a friend in their own time of distress. In that waiting period, God strengthens our hearts and gives us the courage to take another step. Waiting isn't a passive activity but an active preparation for the journey ahead where we seek and rely on him.
So, as we begin to wrap up our time together, we want to provide you some space to respond to what we read and maybe to what God is starting to say to you through Psalm 27. First, take a moment to process this question…WHERE IS GOD ASKING YOU TO WAIT?
Another question to consider is this… HOW CAN YOU ACTIVELY TRUST GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAITING?
PRAYER
Father God,
May we loosen our grip on our ways and embrace Yours in a declaration of trust.
May we remain faithful when the circumstances around us entice us to lose heart
In the waiting, give us courage and provide us the strength to carry on.
We need not fear. We need not be discouraged. You are with us. Amen.