A Surrendered Child's Request

“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” (Ps 25:4-5 AV)

 

What a prayer!  This is the saint’s prayer rolled up into one sentence.  Those who desire to walk with God more intimately pray this prayer often.  We want to be obedient.  We want to please the LORD in all things.  This passage is not difficult to understand.  It is pretty straightforward.  The writer completely and wholly surrendered his life to the Lordship of his God and is desperately seeking His hand upon his life.  This verse reminds me of a father/child relationship.  It reminds me of a child who notices his father aptly performing some skill and desires to learn the same.  He sits.  He listens.  He mimics.  He will willingly place himself under the corrective hand of his father so that one day, he can do what his father does.  Rather than debate or chaff against his father’s instruction, he listens with a ready ear and does exactly what his father instructs.  I am simply struck by the spirit and attitude of the writer.  There is no reservation.  There is no conditional surrender.  It is all laid out here.  The writer waits on the LORD to show him exactly how to live and will not hesitate to strive to that end.

There are several reasons why a child might willingly submit to his father’s influence and guidance.  The first was mentioned above.  He sees an example worth emulating.  He sees his father as a hero.  He sees his father and all that he is as something to be copied.  This is one of the highest of all motives.  We see our heavenly Father and desire to be like Him.  We want that Christlikeness because we see the pure pleasure in it.  There is another reason.  Sometimes, a child desires to be just like his father because he knows it will please his father.  If his father is talented in music, he will practice and learn that one day, father and son can play together.  He knows his father is pleased when he becomes just like him.  This is the highest of all motives.  We should wait on the LORD to teach and guide us because we know it pleases Him.  Like a father who experiences pure joy from showing his child what he knows, the LORD has pure pleasure in the filial relationship He has with His children.  Perhaps an effective motive that is all too common is failure.  We fail in that which our fathers require of us and we want to do better.  We understand the consequences of failure and because our dads know what is best, we listen so that we don’t get stung again.  Our Father doesn’t want to see us get hurt.  He pleads with His children to allow Him to teach and guide us.  So, after the sting of failure has passed, we sit quietly, listening to His word and yielding to the ministry of His Spirit.

What has happened?  We used to be like this.  When we were infants in Christ we soaked everything up.  We listened.  We applied.  We learned.  We accepted correction.  Then somewhere along the line, we got sophisticated.  We got a bit smarter and we think we can figure things out on our own.  The writer above is a full-grown adult.  He has several successes under his belt.  Many enemies have fallen at his feet and he has subdued a kingdom.  Yet, here he is, sounding like a child still in his adolescence.  He knows he has much work to do.  He knows the whole scope of what it means to be godly, he still has a long way to go.  He is a man of faith.  But the things he had to trust for were almost givens.  What was he supposed to do with a giant?  He really didn’t have a choice.  What was he supposed to do with a father-in-law that wanted him dead?  All he could do is run and trust.  When painted into a corner by a pagan king, there weren’t too many options.  But what the king sat on his throne and the world was his oyster, dependence on God wasn’t so pressing.  This is the man who wrote the above verse.  He never allowed his experience or wisdom to give him a false sense of security.  David sought the LORD for instruction, guidance, and strength.  He did this as a little child would no matter the current maturity level he had attained.  He remained a child before God to appear as a man before his nation.