To you, O Lord, I pray. 2 Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me. 3 None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.
4 Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. 5 Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you. 6-7 Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness.
8 The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; 9 he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. 10 And when we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his loving-kindness and his truth.
In 1971, I was in a dark place. I was 1,000 miles from family and friends. My husband was focused on his studies and his job. We did not have a church. I was having great trouble making friends. I felt very alone, and started making some dangerous choices, determined to “fit in.”
Yet I knew, as this Psalm says, that although everything else I counted on was failing me, God wasn’t and never would. He promised to show, lead, teach and especially, forgive those youthful sins. He would teach me how to find my true path and walk it with me. I just had to ask. So I did.
It took time, but with God’s help I was able to “right my ship.”
When I look back, I see three lessons. First, it is incredibly easy to fall into bad habits (they always seem a good idea at the time), and very hard to get out.
Second, God was there to pick up the pieces, guide through the inevitable consequences, and set me on the right course.
And third, I know now that even at my worst God was watching over me. Things could have gone very badly wrong in any number of ways. It is only by grace that they didn’t.
The prerequisite for receiving the grace of God
is to know you need it. Timothy Keller