Ohhhh, boy. Have you ever been in the midst of a difficult trial and you knew that you were in that situation because of your own actions or inaction? Because of your own sin?
Wellllllll, yes.
Been there multiple times. No need to buy a tee shirt because I have several already.
It's the kind of thing where we are in a trial and we know we should cry out to God for help -- but we're apprehensive about doing that . . . because of our own sin.
Or maybe, just maybe, the problem is not due to deliberate sin. Maybe it was our immaturity that got us in this mess. Or maybe we made stupid decisions. You know, judgement calls that we thought we made correctly, but then it turns out it was the wrong call?
Sometimes even when we pray for guidance and wisdom, we do things that result in whole heaps of troubles!
What do we do at times like those?
The next psalm we will study is Psalm 25:
To You, Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 My God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 Make me know Your ways, 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.
6 Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your goodness’ sake, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and upright;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are faithfulness and truth
To those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For the sake of Your name, Lord,
Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.
12 Who is the person who fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.
15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will rescue my feet from the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look at my misery and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Look at my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.
20 Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness protect me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.
The message of Psalm 25 is to seek God in those hard times - no matter why we are in hard times!
I'd like to encourage all of us to add Psalm 25 to our quiet times this next week or so. Re-read it so that it will be fresh for our studies.
See you next time!
Oh yes, yes indeed.
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