I’ve been trying to do God’s work for 70 years and I did not enter the ministry until 50 years ago! How can that be?
I was reading Psalm 19 in the Message this morning. God directed me to the Psalm. He brought it to mind in answer to the question I raised to Him in prayer.
For all these years, Psalm 19 is where I went to read about how God displays his communication in the rising of the sun each day (and other such examples — see verses 1-6). I guess I always read the last half of the Psalm as if it were a repetition of what I already knew (vv7-14); but I read it fresh this morning and Peterson’s paraphrase helped me do it.
The prayer that caught my attention is rendered “Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work.” (Verse 13a). As soon I read it, I said out loud to myself and to God, “I’ve been trying to do God’s work for 70 years!” I’ve been trying to have dominion over Him! In other words, I’ve been trying to run things. I’ve been trying to run my life. I’ve been trying to figure things out well enough to keep things under control. And it’s a stupid sin! It’s stupid because I can never know enough about what is happening and what is about to happen to run my life in such a way that everything is under control! And if I knew these things I could not do anything about most of it! I cannot pull it off! But these verses (7-14) make it crystal clear that God does know that much! It makes it crystal clear that God can do something about all of it! These verses make it clear that God is also as dependable as the sun coming up this morning. These verses make it clear that God has a communication that is even more dependable than that! (Revelation 22:5). And God communicates with me! So, there you are. Instead of the stupid sin of trying to run my life, all that is needed is for me to communicate with Him and depend on what He says.
The question I raised in prayer has been answered. Even though I did not word it this way, the question I asked meant this, “How can I find out what it means to be 70 years old so I can control my life better?” How silly! I encourage you to apply these thoughts to your age, whatever it is, because they apply to you, too (according to Psalm 19).
W. Stephen Williams © copyright 8/15/2024