January 22

The psalmist understood that the best intentions of man sometimes go awry. He realized that of himself he was incapable of fulfilling his own will to live a godly life, let alone to realize God’s perfect will for his life. He knew that awaking each new day means awaking to new challenges and opportunities to be faced and if he were to prosper in them, he could not face them alone.

In Psalm 25:4,5, he implores of the Lord to, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me. For You only do I wait all day long.” Because he knew his frame, because he knew his proclivity to falter in his resolve, he turned to the One who could keep him steadfast.

Like him, we are perhaps well-intentioned but weak-willed. Like him, we yearn to begin our day with Jesus and walk with Him through the circumstances of our lives. We, too, recognize that although we intend to hide ourselves under the shadow of His wing our tendency is to stray from Him. As Jesus observed about us, our “spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38

Therefore, we must seek afresh each day the way we should walk. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be our Guide through the highways and by-ways of life. We need Him every day—every hour!—for without Him, we cannot know which way to turn. If we wait for Him, He will lead us rightly and we will walk in truth and blessing.