“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” – Psalm 143:8.

GOD WILL SOMETIMES orchestrate situations in our lives where commonsense is of no avail in knowing the way forward. There may be a hundred and one possible paths to choose from, but discerning the right one amidst a maze of confusion can be very perplexing. We may have come to our wits end after having exhausted all attempts and endured disappointment after disappointment. It is no good ‘plucking at straws’ which is nothing less than a gamble, for then we put faith in ‘fate’ rather than positioning our focus on God.

Someone may know that the time to move forward in vocation, house or country is upon them; there is a sense of preparedness and detachment from the surrounding environment, yet discerning and determining the future position or location can oftentimes appear bewildering, especially when time is against us. Choices have to be made and the pressure is on.

The most needful aspect, above all, is to find stillness in God that is free from an atmosphere of worry, fear and panic. We will have no peace until we find rest in Him. Paul stated, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is often the last resort in a fast-paced and demanding society, yet God’s laws have not changed; prayer is what has influenced history more than anything else; prayer is what has caused the Church to prevail through the centuries; prayer is what has the power to break through bars and walls of iron when all human resources have failed.

Like King Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:14-19), spread the desperate matter out before God, with a submissive and waiting heart. God has brought you to this place so that on Him you rely, not on any man or woman; God has brought you thus far to pour out all your heart’s grief and concerns to Him (Psalm 62:8). God is your helper, but sometimes for that to be seen, we have to encounter times of desolation, loneliness, the failure of friends and the depleting of our own resources leaned upon – “No refuge remains to me, no one cares for my soul. I cry to You, O LORD; I say. ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (Psalm 142:4-5).

“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.” Notice how David longs to know, before any deliverance, the steadfast love of God; it was the very first thing he desired to hear in his waking moments. Then came the request for God to reveal the way forward for him. “Seek first the kingdom of God…” Cultivating closeness with God results in the disclosure of His ways and will for our lives.

Do we believe that God will take care of us? Have we the assurance that we are of far more worth than the birds of the air God richly provides for? Do we rest in the love our Heavenly Father has for us, a love that is immovable, unquenchable and enduring despite our waywardness?

When we lose our grip on life, God is there to sustain us. That is not to imply we use God as a crutch to get by, but rather, as God’s children, we are put through trials designed by the hand of God, wherein His providence intends for us to lean upon Him. David, the ruler of Israel and Judah, encountered those times, “When my spirit faints within me, You know my way!” (Psalm 142:3) and “From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). We may be at a loss where circumstances seem so ambiguous and we haven’t the foggiest idea as to where we are meant to be; attempting to connect those dots leave us at a loss. It is then we most certainly need to pray, “Make me know the way I should go.”

Out of stillness with God, comes a submissive and yielding heart to His will even though we do not immediately perceive the way God has chosen for us, but there is that implicit trust in the fact He knows best. If our hearts are resting, waiting and yielding to God’s ways, then in His perfect time we shall know the promises of Scripture fulfilled in regards to guidance: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This the way, walk in it’, when you turn to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21); “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).