Be Teachable - July 11

Read Psalm 25:8-13 (ESV)

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.

Reflect

Has your pride ever prevented you from learning a lesson from others and instead set you up for learning your lesson the “hard way”?

“You can’t tell him anything. He’ll just have to find out the hard way.” We all know this type of person. We may even be this type of person. This is the type of person who in pride often refuses to listen to others and chooses instead to go their own way. But they’d save themselves a world of hurt if they’d just listen to wise instruction from the get-go.

In today’s verses, King David wrote that God is the One who gives wise instruction to those who seek it. And that is the key. We have to be willing to seek His guidance and accept what He has to say. That is why David said “He leads the humble in what is right” rather than “He leads the proud in his way.” The proud rarely seek the Lord’s way in the first place and instead follow their own way.

Can you relate? Have you ever known what God wanted you to do but instead decided to go rogue and do your own thing? How did it work out for you? Every time I have rejected God’s commands and guidance for my life and persisted in my own way, I have failed miserably. Sometimes the consequences have been more severe than other times but it has never resulted in God’s best for my life.

Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” Similarly, Proverbs 13:10 says “By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.” It is wise to be humble enough to admit that we would benefit from following God’s way instead of our own. It is wise to humbly take God’s advice.

David wrote that the Lord is “good and upright.” Sometimes I think we forget this when we persist in disobedience or ignore God’s direction. It’s almost as if we want to do what we want to do because we feel as if God is holding out on us by denying our desires. But if we remembered that He is good and upright and that “all the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness” I think we’d be more apt to walk in those ways. He isn’t holding out on us. He isn’t controlling us just for the sake of exercising power and dominion over us. He is good and He wants good for us and those around us. That’s why He told us over and over again in His Word how to live a godly life.

At the beginning of today’s psalm, David wrote, “Make me know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:4-5). That is the prayer and heart’s desire of a humble man and the prayer of a man who fears the Lord.

What is the benefit of seeking the Lord’s counsel and following in His way? In verse 13, David said that those who fear the Lord and humbly obey Him have souls that live with a sense of well-being. When we walk with the Lord in obedience, we can rest easy knowing that we are living within His will and thus, we are under His loving care.

Friend, if you have a humble and teachable attitude, if you want God’s guidance and direction, if you want a sense of well-being, knowing that you are doing life God’s way, it all starts with going back to the Bible. His Word is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

Respond

Lord, I confess that I have often tried to go my own way. But I am learning that You are “good and upright” and “all Your ways are steadfast love and faithfulness”. How foolish it is to ignore Your Word and what a blessing it is to obey it. Help me set aside my pride and follow Your ways. Amen.

Reveal

Share with someone you trust one area where God has been correcting your heart through His Word. Then ask what lesson God has been teaching them lately. Encourage one another to remain humble, teachable, and willing to follow wherever the Lord leads.