Word of Encouragement (5/27/2026)

Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. (Ps 27:11-12)

Having sought God’s face/presence, David now prays for God’s guidance. As we mentioned before, the order is important. To seek anything, even good and excellent things, apart from God can quickly lead us down the path of idolatry and destruction. As God’s image-bearers, we are made to worship God. When we are not grounded in proper worship of God, we are prone to worship anything and everything in lieu of God because we are made to worship. To worship anything other than God is to be enslaved by it. Only God is great enough to make us truly free when we worship Him. And when we worship God in spirit and truth, we can enjoy all things as they are meant to be enjoyed as God’s gracious gifts.

David needs God’s guidance because of his adversaries and false witnesses, who breathe out violence against him and actively seek to destroy him. He does not just sit around and ask God to do all the work. God can, and does, do that from time to time for us. And there are times when we feel so helpless that that is all that we can pray for. But for our growth, God desires us to walk by faith (as when Israel was commanded to cross the Jordan River during its flood season), and David understood this.

So, David asks the Lord to teach him His way. A commentator suggests that “His way” here does not refer to the commandments but the way of God’s providence. This makes sense. God’s commandments do not cover every life situation. In many cases, we must derive the moral principles behind the commandments and apply them in our situations. Even then, there are many “grey” areas in life, in which the choices are not a matter of right and wrong but of wisdom. Being in a dire situation, David is asking the Lord to help him know His way of providence.

David further asks the Lord to lead him on a level path. What is a level path? As a commentator suggests, it is a path that gives a firm footing. This does not necessarily mean that the path is free of threat and danger. But David’s main concern was that he stood firm in God’s path and not stumble on his own folly and sin.

We cannot avoid failure in this life. But there is a world of difference between failing on account of our sins and failing on account of other reasons. The agony of failure becomes all the more unbearable when our remorse is attached to it. So, we should ask God to lead us on a level path. As we do so, we should also resist the temptation to venture out on slippery slopes.