Advice for Today – Commit Your Way unto the Lord

Commit thy way unto the LORD;

trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,

and thy judgment as the noonday.

Psalm 37: 5,6

“Uncertain, at best” is an understatement when we look at the future these days.  With inflating prices, deflating stocks, as well as wars and rumors of war, there is no way to even guess how the future will turn out. An uncertain future makes it very difficult to chart a feasible course for our lives.  This is why, in addition to “fretting not,” trusting in the Lord, and doing good, this third couplet in Psalm 37 is good advice for today.

What should be the road into your future? Or my future?  This psalm, in verse five, talks about “thy way” – the individual road for your life.  In these days when the evildoers of verses 1 and 2 seem to prosper as they do even more evil, how should I order my life, my finances, or raise my family? Which way is the best road ahead?

Ira Stanphill, a well-known Gospel song composer, wrote a song which fits this couplet in Psalm 37  titled “I Don’t Know About Tomorrow.”  The chorus of the song goes like this:

Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand

But I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know He holds my hand.

We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but there is Someone who does.  He not only knows about tomorrow, He holds it. Though it may not seem like it, in all the chaos He is actually working outl His gracious purposes. The best thing is, through Christ, we can know this Someone.  He can “hold our hand” – guiding us and assuring us as we continue on our troublesome trek. All we have to do is to commit, or roll over, the “way” of our future to Him.

This rolling over, or surrender, is a daily – sometimes even an hourly – process. It is not a substitute for sound planning or receiving wise counsel (Proverbs 22:3), but it is the the starting point for them.

Sometimes the way He chooses for us is counter-intuitive – not always the most logical or the most popular. I have experienced that a few times with some decisions I had to make.  It made the way forward  a bit more difficult and, frankly, a little frightening but it always turned out well when I chose to go His way. There are a few keys to being sure it is the Lord, and not our own imagination, that is leading us.  First, search God’s word. He will NEVER guide us in a way that contradicts His written word. Second, seek out the counsel of the most godly person you know (and knows you.)  How can we tell if a person is godly?   A godly person is someone who allows God to define how they should live in every area of his or her life. They won’t be perfect but they will be trying to live their life to please Him above all others. Third, make it a matter of serious prayer – and fasting, if that is possible.  Then, allow the peace of God act as kind of an umpire in you heart (Colossians 3:15-17).

‘When we “roll our way” unto the Lord – allowing Him to guide us through this perilous and confusing future we face – we will look back in amazement and see it really was the best way for us.  Others will see it as well and be amazed.  This couplet ends with this promise:

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37:6 (NLT)