Thursday, January 17, 2019 - Daily Devotion

Knowing God’s Ways
JANUARY 17, 2019


SCRIPTURES
PSALM 25:4-11
4 Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your loving kindness remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.

8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.

10 All the paths of the LORD are loving kindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.


11 For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.


THURSDAY
17
Psalm 25:4-11

Having facts about someone is not the same as truly knowing the person. For instance, if a friend you know relatively well were to come and live with you for several months, you would discover his or her ways—that is, habits, preferences, attitudes, and priorities.

When Scripture speaks of God’s ways, it’s referring to much more than His actions or facts about His nature. His ways include His manner, motivations, desires, thoughts, and purposes. One of the reasons believers often become discouraged is that they don’t understand what God is doing in their life. That’s why it’s essential to learn how the Lord operates. As long as we remain ignorant of His ways as revealed in His Word, we won’t trust or know Him intimately.

The Bible is such a big book that some believers may be tempted to give up, thinking it will take too long to learn how God works. But it’s important to remember that we all have the same starting point. When we’re born again, God doesn’t automatically download everything we need to know about Him into our brains. Learning to understand the Lord and how He does things is a process; He teaches us as we continue to read, obey what we know of Scripture, and spend time with Him.

Do you find yourself longing to grow in intimacy with the Lord? If so, you must live closely with Him by listening as He speaks through His Word—and by humbling yourself to learn, accept, and delight in His ways above your own.