Psalm 86:11

Psalm 86:11

I didn't do it my way

There are two wonderful couplets here in this verse: -

1.     Teach me Your way, Lord                   that I may rely on Your faithfulness

2.     Give me an undivided heart               that I may fear Your name

In this Psalm David has been concerned and will be concerned, with the threat posed by his enemies.  But, here at its heart, he is also concerned about the threat within himself. We need to pray this prayer with him.

I have asked myself, on many occasions recently, dare I trust the Lord? It sounds ridiculous but, as a believer, I have spent an awful lot of time trying to resolve my own conflicts and my own needs. The journey of faith demands that we learn to trust the Lord but instead we too often look to our own judgements and take responsibility for providing for ourselves and our families. In fact, most of us wear the badge proudly that we didn’t have to depend on anyone! Or, as Frank Sinatra so wrongly sang, “I did it my way!” (I burn with fury/despair when I hear that sung at funerals!)

In the light of the above, an undivided heart must be one that looks to the Lord and to Him alone. Even the legitimate responsibilities of life can turn our heads and make us trust in ourselves rather than in the Lord. The richest Bible characters are those who learned to trust, it is only when we do this that we can move beyond the ordinary and take on tasks that we know we are incapable of. That is the consequence of an undivided heart, of faith that declares, “If the Lord is with us, it can be done.”

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