Purpose and Direction - Psalm 119:33 - 34
When I was a child until a young adult, I loved hurricane seasons in Houston. My particular fondness for the season came from the interest my dad showed in them. When the local tv station would announce the new season's "hurricane maps" had come out, my dad would get one, and then he would listen to the coordinates given of lows forming off the West Coast of Africa or further across the Atlantic in the Caribbean or Gulf that might form hurricanes. He tracked them with all the skill of a man on a ship charting its course with a sextant, the stars, and a map.
In the event one looked to come close to Houston, we stocked up on the necessities to ride out the storm (with possible power and fuel outages, food shortages, and such). Dad took them seriously and listened to the warnings, adhered to the rules given to be prepared, and tracked them.
How do we do that in our lives? How do we prepare ourselves for the storms we are going to face in life? Where do we go to prepare for such things? Some people turn to various sources, found easily in the bookstore's self-help sections, on how to prosper, handle adversity, make serious life changes, and such. David gives us clear instruction in his prayers and psalms with regard to where he would turn.
In Psalm 119, David asks God, "Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and give me life in your ways." (33 - 37)
God does give us clear direction in life. God's way is not ill-defined or poorly focused. Our sin makes it difficult to either see that direction, or worse, to resist that direction. To that end, in answer to David's prayer (and others), God sent us his Son as an exchange for our sinful lives and inability to follow God's commands. Daily, we pray to seek God's counsel, and we still want to strive to follow his direction, especially in life's storms. We thank God for his Son who cleanses us from all unrighteousness and makes us holy in the sight of God, who overcomes our lack of direction.
Hope Men's Ministry
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