Psalm 25:4-5
Teach me Thy Paths
“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me thy paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
All through middle school and into high school, my very patient and gracious mom would sit down at the kitchen table and help me finish my math homework. I dreaded this time of day most. My mind seemed to work against me by refusing to process statistics or calculus at all, and I had difficulty communicating exactly what I did not understand. More often than not, I would eventually give up and say, “Oh, I get it now…” — just so I could escape the kitchen table and go to bed. Instead, I would commit to visual memory the shape and handwriting of one trusted equation and mimic that flow on my exam. In essence, I “faked it until I made it” through each test, then promptly filtered through all the unnecessary information to make room for the next piece of paper I would remember.
This escape method from struggling through the mental work of grasping a new concept soon translated to my other classes as I consolidated all my notes on one piece of paper and organized them in a visually, memorable way. Each had unique scripts and helpful drawing that facilitated the process of regurgitating carefully crafted phrases and facts. Does this mean I refused to learn anything? No, of course not — but the pattern continued whenever I could not understand something.
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When I started attending bible studies for the first time, I quickly discerned that I could not lean on this unstable crutch — for the contents of this book and these new conversations held eternal significance and a radically different perspective of life itself. They transformed the way I viewed the world and my own heart before a Holy, Creator God.
I started to navigate through conversations in such a way that quietly hid my struggle of grasping new spiritual concepts and began to carefully listen for new words and titles of books or references. These conversations seemed to have a different language, and I wanted to understand it. When I arrived home each evening, I would look up the words I heard, like: “justification”, “predestination”, “reverence”, “sin”, “sanctification”, “holiness”, “sovereignty”, and so on. Then, I would open the Bible again and wrestle to understand scripture. Nothing had ever seemed so important as this before.
“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me thy paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
To be shown something is an active event. It requires careful, sustained attention and engagement. Its purpose would be understanding, then subsequently — emulation. To be shown someone’s ways presses even further: “the adoption or assimilation of one’s ways of thinking and acting”.
The Hebrew word, “orach” (נָתִיב), was deeply embedded in the consciousness of God’s people. The term refers to the “path” or “way” of a man, and is often used in scripture to metaphorically describe the course of one’s life or conduct. Upon hearing this word, it would have likely provoked the visual of a well-trodden road” from choices aligned with divine wisdom and reflected one’s relationship with God.
In Psalm 25, the basis of David’s request for guidance and teaching are founded on his salvation — David knew that God had saved him, so he could expectantly hope for His guidance. In Proverbs, the path of the righteous is described as “the morning sun, shining ever brighter to the full light of day” (Prov. 4:19); and God’s Word is described as the source of bright guidance — a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (119:105). The path of the righteous may be contrasted with the ways and path of the wicked, often alluded to as: “seductive” (12:26), “deep darkness” (4:19), “an abomination” (15:9), “like chaff blown away“, “leading to destruction” and “death“.
Take a moment to ponder the path of your feet. What desires or sources of counsel influence the choices you make? Will this path reap fruit that blesses you or thorns that ensnare you? What lies at the end of this path?
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Do I remember what COS, SIN, and TAN mean from calculus? Nope. But I remember that my mom chose to sit with me at the table until I finished the work. You tend to remember people who sit with you as your mind and heart slowly begin to grasp new concepts and ways of thinking.
More than this, imagine a teacher who not only sits beside you as you learn, but one who “knows all your ways” and “thoughts before they are formed” (Psalm 139). One whom you do not have to struggle to explain yourself to because He already knows what you need. Take a moment to reflect — the one who leads you on the path of life knows how you are naturally inclined to think, what patterns you are apt to repeat, and what paths seem most pragmatic in the moment. He who has marked out your path has also written all of your days and knows how to perfectly equip you for every good work that He has prepared for you to do.
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Consider Jesus in John chapter 3 as he awaited the arrival of Nicodemus one evening — a conversation prepared before the foundations of the earth, that would be written down and bless generations to come. God in flesh had invited this Pharisee, a teacher of the law, to sit beside him around the fire and converse about heavenly things. Did he come to Jesus by night because he was timid? Perhaps he sought Jesus secretly out of fear for what the Sanhedrin might have thought. His mind stirred with questions. He came in the spirit of curiosity, seeking to understand who Jesus claimed himself to be. Nothing had ever seemed so important.
Instead of directly answering Nicodemus’ question about who he claimed to be, Jesus spoke straight to the heart of what He knew Nicodemus needed to wrestle with and understand most by gently giving him something new to think about. His answer had authoritatively fractured the false prop of assurance that Nicodemus had likely leaned upon — his racial identity as a Jew to assure him a place in God’s kingdom. It was not Nicodemus’ birth into this identity that would save him, but only by “being born again” he would have eternal security.
Take comfort in the character of God — who is the most perfect, present, patient teacher. Be encouraged to ask God in prayer to teach you His ways and show you His paths.