by Dr. Al Hearne II

This devotion is our third shore excursion to understand how daily living in God's truth leads to eternal life.

Shore Excursion 3 - How Does God Guide And Teach The Truth

Psalm 25:5, "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 25 teaches us that in the face of life's problems and trying circumstances, we, like King David, are to turn to the Lord for divine help and guidance.  It is unknown when King David wrote this Psalm or which one of the many trying issues he was walking through at the time.  Based upon the content, it seems King David wrote this Psalm during trying circumstances, turning to the Lord for guidance and help.  King David beautifully illustrates the connection between praising God (25:1-3), seeking God's guidance, and recognizing the connection between his sin and his circumstances (25:6-7). He then declares that the Lord is good (25:8-10), asks for forgiveness of his sin (25:11-15), and sets his eyes always upon the Lord (25:15-22).

Amid a trying circumstance, King David knew to turn to God for guidance and to be taught the Lord's truth. How exactly is King David asking God to guide and teach him this truth? The Hebrew meanings for "guide" and "teach" help us understand what David wants.  Larak, the Hebrew word for guide, means to walk or to tread upon a path.  Lamad is the Hebrew word for teaching to follow a course of training. David asks the Lord to walk him through a training course focused on God's truth. What is the truth? Emet, the Hebrew word for truth, refers to truth as the measurement of God's word (the Bible) and God's actions (as seen throughout history). David freely submits to this because the Lord is "the God of my salvation" (25:5c).

What does this mean for us today? Just as King David turned to God asking for divine help after recognizing the connection between his sin and his current circumstances, today, we, too, must turn to the Lord in our times of need and seek His help. At our moment of salvation, we were justified and forgiven of our sins (Rom. 5:1). We now live our lives through the ongoing process of sanctification (being made holy) that continues for our entire human lives (Phil. 2:12-13) as we await our future glorification when Christ returns and resurrects His Church (Rom. 8:30). As part of our sanctification, we must ask the Lord daily to lead us through a training course in His truth. By doing so, we allow God to guide us down His path of righteousness, where we learn the lessons He desires to teach us! This training course must involve activities such as reading God's word, praying, worshiping, and spending time with fellow believers for fellowship. By engaging in these practices, we are growing in holiness and preparing ourselves for the eternal life that awaits us in Christ.

Reflective Practice

Think about a time when God picked you up and carried you through a difficult situation; how did He guide and teach you His truth?

Are there any areas in your life where you need God's guidance and teaching?

What are you currently doing to live out God's truth in your daily life?

Concluding Prayer

Heavenly Father, only you are good and upright; only you can instruct us in your truth and lead us into your truth for daily living. We thank you for the many times that you have helped us. Please enroll us in Your training course on truth, guiding and teaching us daily through Your Word so that we can be prepared to face life's circumstances in a way that honors and glorifies You. In Jesus' name, Amen!

 

[image, God’s Training Course, was created by DALL·E.]