Psalm 25:8-10 - 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.
The Lord is good and upright. He is righteous and He loves sinners. He wants to instruct them in what is right. Instead of being eager to condemn us as we deserve for our sins, God our Savior "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). In His grace, His undeserved favor for sinners, God is patient with us. He does not want anyone to perish eternally. His paths are steadfast love and faithfulness. That is who He is, what He does.
Our paths are very different. We often wander away from what is right. That is who we are and what we do. We are not always faithful and we do not love one another as we should. We know the Lord's way is right, but we choose our own paths instead. We listen to the tempting voices of the world and follow our own selfish desires. Yet Scripture says of our loving Lord, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful-for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). His paths are steadfast love and faithfulness. According to His gracious love for sinners, God sent His own innocent Son to suffer and die to save us. On the cross Jesus took onto Himself the condemnation we deserve because of our sins.
The psalmist says that God "leads the humble in what is right." A necessary step in turning onto the right path is being humble enough to admit that we are on the wrong path. The Holy Spirit works through the Law of God to call us to repentance, leading us to admit—to God and to ourselves—that we are going the wrong way. He empowers us to turn and believe the good news that our sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake. We are set on the right path as God instructs us in His way, the Way who is His only Son, Jesus Christ.
Now as Advent nears, we look to the Child of Bethlehem, the Child who is our good and upright Lord. In the coming church year we will follow the Savior's path of steadfast love to the cross. When we are burdened by sin, God will call us to repentance. We will turn in humble trust to the Savior, who calls to us: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Our good and upright Lord walked the path to the cross for the sake of our salvation. Now, in steadfast love and faithfulness, He leads us in the right way—His Way.
WE PRAY: Jesus, in Your unfailing love, lead me on paths through life that are pleasing to You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you recall when you first sensed that God was good and His Word was important for you to follow?
2. Why is humility—genuine humility before God's power and greatness—such an important quality in a Christian's life? What does is signify to those who are seeking God?
3. What profound lessons can we learn from Mary and Joseph in the Christmas story about trust and humility? (See Luke 2.)
Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 24-26 1 Peter 2
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