Experiencing God’s Leading

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Experiencing God’s Leading

Date: Jan. 13, 2023

Passage

Psalm 143:1-12 (ESV)

A Psalm of David.

1   Hear my prayer, O LORD;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.
3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.
5   I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
6   I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!
    My spirit fails!
  Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
  Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.
9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
    I have fled to you for refuge.
10   Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
  Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!
11   For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your servant.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 143:10

  Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
  Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!

This Psalm is another model of how to pray for help when we are at our human limit. The author knows he himself is not perfectly righteous, so he bases his prayer on God’s mercy (2). He confesses how weak and crushed he feels (3-4). But he also strengthens his faith by remembering how God has helped him in the past (5).

We can strengthen ourselves for difficult times by seeking the word of God’s unfailing love every morning (8), until it comes into our hearts. We also submit our lives to God’s guidance and commit ourselves to be Jesus’ disciples, learning his will.

Then we can experience God’s leading on the pathway of life, and will experience true security, like we are walking on level ground (10). We gain assurance from our identity as God’s servant (12).

Prayer: Prayer: Father, thank you for your leading on my life. I want to seek your word every morning and learn to do your will as Jesus’ disciple.

One Word: One Word: Lead me on level ground

Fallen Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Key Verse: 18:4

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

  “Come out of her, my people,
    lest you take part in her sins,
  lest you share in her plagues;

Today's Question

What does the third commandment require?

See answer and references