Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Sometimes in David’s Psalms the speaker switches, and I think that is the case here. To me, this is clearly the Lord, speaking to David and to us. This and the next verse follow very logically what David has been saying up to this point, if you look at them that way. This assurance of God’s guidance, His instruction, is very comforting for anyone who wants to live their life right, to the fullest. Interestingly, the Japanese says, “teach you and enlighten you,” using the same term the Buddhists use for their goal in life. The problem with Buddhism is that it is based on human effort, and has no concept of a Savior. We do need to be enlightened, but we can’t achieve that by our own effort. However, God in His mercy reveals Himself to those whose hearts are tender before Him. That is satori, enlightenment! As Paul so rightly proclaimed, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) It is only by trusting in the God who created us that we can get things right. However, if that is the desire of our heart, He is more than faithful to bring it about.

My IQ has been a problem for me all my life, because I have tended to trust in my own understanding instead of seeking God. That directly violates one of the wisest things in the whole book of Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) I have liked the Proverbs passage for as long as I can remember, but the problem has been in living it out. I distinctly remember the moment when it finally hit me, all the way down to the depths of my being, that it wasn’t that God was smarter than I was, it was that God’s smart and I’m not. That was enlightenment! I’m a bit embarrassed to say, it only happened within the last 25 years, because I was in the sanctuary of this building, and we only started using it in 1999. Now, I at least recognize when I’m being stupid! I need to be active in my humility, grateful for the intellect God has given me but not trusting in it, knowing that only God has all the right answers. That lets me know that “Trust the science” is a smoke-screen for deception. I rejoice at things God allows us to discover, but I know that the final answer always lies with Him, and not with man.

Father, thank You for Your incredible patience with us, not to mention Your grace and mercy. Help me listen to You more and more accurately, just as You had me say in the message yesterday, so that I may indeed do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!