Teach, Show, Guide

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I come to a time of devotion for so many reasons. Among them is the desire to know You and be close to You. Please use Your Word to expand my love for You. Pour out Your Spirit, that I might be inspired and that I might gain deeper insight into who You are and how we are to relate to each other. Use this time of devotion to bring honor to Your name and joy to my heart. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Read: Psalm 25
http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm 25:1-22

Thoughts: The Word of God is a fascinating thing. In His infinite wisdom God has chosen the written Word as the vehicle through which we learn of His Son and the saving work that He has done for us. The Word is so important that the Apostle John begins his Gospel with the Words, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) While we might take it for granted, we are incredibly blessed because we get to hold this Word in our very own hands; read it, memorize it, mark it with our notes and thoughts, own it. What a gift!

In Psalm 25, David writes about the power and impact of this Word in his own life. Of particular interest are verses 4 and 5.

Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.

A request for a deeper knowledge of God and His ways is repeated 4 times in just two sentences. “Make me know”, “Teach me”, “Lead me”, and “Teach me” again! This isn’t just an off-the-cuff request. This is a serious desire that David knows only the Lord can accomplish. And this goal is accessible to us because God makes His Word available to us. On the pages of the Scriptures, we find out God’s ways, the direction of His path, His truth, and the way of salvation. What more do we need?

We need one other thing; the will to read and study it. Without a regular influx of God’s Word, we become disconnected from Him. We begin to seek our own path and make up our own solutions to the problems that beset us in this sin-filled world. Does knowledge of the Word keep us from life’s troubles? Sorry, but no. But what that knowledge does do is equip us with the tools we must have to deal with those situations with God’s wisdom and direction. You can’t know what God wants you to do unless you know God’s Word. It’s as simple as that. The challenge for a great many of us is staying faithful to that daily input from the Word. We get busy or distracted and that time of reading and listening is put aside. Usually it isn’t a decision made with malice or even forethought. It just happens. Suddenly we find ourselves floundering and without a firm foundation when the ground shakes a little. The good news is that we can always return and take up the Word right where we left off, leaning once again on the wisdom, strength, and salvation that come from the study of the Bible.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Everything. Without the Word, we would still know there’s a God. Nature itself tells us that truth. But it is in the Words of the Gospels that we learn of the birth of our Savior. Here we find the stories of God’s people as they grappled with being thrust into God’s bigger story of redemption and salvation from sin. These Words are precious and taste sweet upon our lips and ring in our ears with joy. Read the Word, study the Word, and share the Word; let it daily inform your life and fill you up with the ways of God.

Prayer: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” Psalm 25:1-6

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