January 8
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PSALM 143-MAKE ME KNOW THE WAY I SHOULD GO
Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD I have fled to you for refuge. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! 11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. – Psalm 143:7-12
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In this psalm, David continues to ask God to show him the way that he should go. At the beginning of this psalm, we hear David getting discouraged and exhausted from the many attacks of the enemy on him. In verses 1-6, we hear his despair and anguish that seemed as deep as Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane just before he was about to die.
In verses 5-6 (previous to these verses) we hear a shift from despair to hope. In verse 7, he continues on to plead God to manifest his presence to him. His request to end his isolation in verse 7 is a manifestation of his humility and his dependence on God. He almost declares that without God, he will be like those godless people. Verse 8 is a declaration of his trust in God and how he longs for his lead and guidance to him so he can face all these trials and sufferings.
I love that he says “Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” It is a complete reliance on him. How many of us Christians actually exhibit this kind of dependence and trust and submission to God? We often act on our own will. It is automatic for us to do what we know or what we think is good for us. In verse 9, David reminds God once again of his promise for deliverance from the enemy. Verse 10 declares God as his teacher and that without God’s instructions, he will never be able to obey his will. It shows how David lives under the grace and mercy and will of God. He asks God to show him how to live in this world. In verse 11, he beseeches God to deliver his soul from being corrupted by the world. In verse 12, he reminds God again of his promise for vindication and deliverance from his enemies.
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REFLECTION
• Why is asking God to tell you what to do and where to go an important habit that all believers must include in their daily walk with the Holy Spirit?
• What happens when we rush into doing things without consulting God’s Spirit?