“Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.”Psalms 86:1-3 NKJV
Reflection: how desperately do you need God in your life?
Yesterday we spent many hours traveling by car, across multiple states. We knew where we came from, our destination, and the roads that would lead us there. We have traveled this highway many times before, so we don’t even need a map. As long as we stay on the highway we know, that is. But imagine if we had taken a detour, either by choice or by accident, we could have easily gotten lost. Just kept driving, not really knowing where that road would lead. But let’s say our destination was in a place we had never been, and, we didn’t know the roads that would lead us there, it would not be very smart to start driving without a map, or some sort of GPS. In fact, if this road had frequent turnoffs and intersections, we would have had to refer to the map frequently.
Now, let’s draw a metaphorical comparison of driving to some destination, and our lives. Do we know where we currently are, in life? How about the destination, is that very clear? And finally, the road system to get there? If you think about it, we are really traveling along in life, and suddenly we come to an intersection. We cannot sit still, so a choice has to be made, which road to follow. As a Christian, you might think of Jesus words, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NKJV. But, let’s say the choice is between which of three jobs to take, each one will take you in a different direction, how can you apply “Jesus is the way” to such a life decision?
We see this desperate plea to God by David, as he starts out “Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy.” Psalms 86:1 NKJV. And we might wonder, David, the king, saying this? Being poor and needy?? He was wealthy, and even a popular king, right? And wasn’t he even a man after God’s heart? But David’s plea is if he has been driving along in life, and suddenly realizing that he is in a very foreign place, an area he doesn’t recognize. And he sees ahead that there are multiple choices for the path forward. If we scroll down a bit in this psalm, we see that is exactly what is going on. “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Psalms 86:11 NKJV. David has totally recognized that he is lost without God leading him in life. He knows that the only path in life, out of the thousands of possibilities, that will lead him home, is God’s truth. Again, we wonder how?
In the focus verses, we continue to read the next two “Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.”Psalms 86:2-3 NKJV. We see here that his choices in life have already been following God, as he says that he is holy (or whole) in his walk with God, and he is God’s servant. It is not as if David has lived a wild life on his own. But, he also knows that his heart as a man can so easily be corrupted by this treacherous walk in this world. He knows his heart, and notice his beautiful surrender of his heart to God, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Psalms 86:11 NKJV
He is asking God to unite his heart, or give him “an undivided heart”, aligned with God’s truth. Not just so that he will know the truth, but that he will fear the name of the Lord! Oh, how we need, as David realized, a fear of the Lord!! Our world, our western, Christian societies have gotten so off track. We are in many ways so lost in the world, as God’s people. And I think it starts with each of us, taking a serious and honest look at ourselves of how desperate we are for God’s truth in our lives. To come to this place where David was, in pleading with God, “Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Psalms 86:11 NKJV.