The God Who Shows, Teaches and Guides Me
By: Tiffany Thibault
Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.- Psalm 25:4-5
When the hospital laid my newborn daughter in my arms, my heart overflowed with such awe. In the days that followed I watched in amazement as she began to interact more with her environment. The next few months brought an incredible amount of changes in her. Soon she could lift her head, turn over, sit up, hold her bottle, and feed herself finger food. All of these changes were innate within her.
Then the day came when I had to actually teach her how to do things, such as how to hold a fork, button a shirt, tie her shoes, or ride a bike. These things were not easy for her to learn, but they were an important part of her gaining independence and confidence. I needed to use a patient tone, and gentle hands to help guide her through the process. All these situations required repetition, and practice on a daily basis until she could do it completely on her own.
When my daughter needed to learn to put her shoes on correctly, I would show her while I tied my shoes, explaining each thing that I was doing. Then I would guide her hands to tie her shoes, while using my words to talk her through each step that we were doing. My showing and teaching her this skill will be something that she will never forget. It is something that she can now do from memory.
I love how David used specific words when he was praying to God. He said show me and teach me. He then used the words guide me and teach me. David knew that truth from faith and personal experience. He needed God to show Himself, show him which way to go, and show His grace and mercy over and over again. We need that truth as well, because we tend to forget way to quickly. We need him to teach us more about Him but also more about ourselves. We must see how much we truly need Him in every part of our life. The more we can allow God to show us His truth, the more it gets ingrained in us so that the next time difficulties come, our faith is stronger and we can endure it with a bit more strength and grace.
The next words from that verse that David uses is “Guide me in your truth and teach me.” He had so many troubles in His life, but David knew that he needed to be in God’s word, meditating on his promises and seeking His direction. The more we know of God, the more that knowledge can guide us through our situations and circumstances.
When David penned those words, he was not writing them from a place of asking God to simply show, guide and teach him in his current difficult situation. He was asking the Lord to continually help him walk through his days. He wanted God to guide him with true wisdom that he could use for the rest of his life. Twice he asked God to teach him. He knew his own lack of knowledge. He knew how much he needed God. He desperately wanted God to be a part of his every moment. He knew that God must keep on teaching him, through showing and guiding him every day.
If you allow Him, God will continually move in your life as he did for David. Are you willing to let God show and teach you about yourself, about your situation, about His power in your life?
Are you willing to allow God to guide and teach you through your circumstance to grow stronger in your faith and your influence in the lives of those around you?
By allowing God to show, guide and teach you, it will allow your hope to rest in God all day long. Without hope, the day will be long and weary. Why not allow Him to show Himself strong in your life, teaching you and guiding you in His truth?
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington, Andrea Bocelli, Reba McEntire, Mark Wahlberg, Tony Dungy, and Matthew McConaughey—what do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their stories of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.