Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.

Psalm 143:8

This prayer reminds me a bit of how I felt as a young preschooler when my mother took me on shopping excursions. She led me by the hand through busy streets, weaving her way between crowds of people. I had no idea where Mom was taking me, but that was all right. It was her job to take me, and my job to hold her hand tightly and follow along. Mom was in charge and she would look after things. Within my young mind, I didn’t know or understand the destination, but that didn’t matter. I trusted her.

David must have felt a little like me, learning to trust as he wrote this prayer when he was being persecuted by his son Absalom. He was afraid but, as though he were a child looked after by his mother, he believed God would show him where he should go and what he should do next. He trusted that God was in charge.

What comfort it must have been for David to write this prayer! What comfort it could be for us if, like David, we prayed like this, not only during times of trouble, but anytime. What a relief to not have to worry, but openly place our lives in God’s hands, trusting that He will watch out for us! If we could say “show me the way I should go,” where might God take us?

Personally, I have known God to take me on some wonderful mystery tours to places I could never have imagined. He took me from months in a mental hospital in 1965 to becoming a published author and photographer and the leader of a mental health support ministry. In 1965 the medical staff had given me little hope for a normal life. That’s the kind of thing God can do.

Hold tightly to His hand.

marja