Today’s Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10
4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. (NRSV)
It is hard for me to get the Lady Antebellum song “Down South” out of my head. I like the interesting sound and beat, but it is the song’s lyrics that are most intriguing. Reflecting on leaving home and trying to return, the song talks about love, life, and God:
“Religion and me don’t always agree but I sure love my Maker
Sounds just like a gospel song when I sing my little prayer
Got rocks in my shoes, holes in my soul
And I’m covered in dirt from head to toe
From walking along this winding road that brought me back to here”
If you listen carefully, you realize that this is a universal song about the human condition. We love God, but we rebel. We have rocks in our shoes and holes in our souls from dealing with life.
The psalmist whose words we read today experienced the same things. He sowed wild oats and has doubts, but knows that God is the way forward. The psalmist pleads, “Show me how you work, God; School me in your ways,” and claims God’s promise of guidance.
Our faith promises that there is a path to God if we seek it out. This Lenten season of preparation calls us to focus on finding our way toward God and learning more about God’s ways. Let us each pay attention to that call.
Prayer: Lord, help us to know your ways and to honor them each day so that we may be closer to You. Amen.