Living God’s Way
“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11).
This is our third blog meditating on Psalm 86:11. I proposed that this psalm may be best read in reverse order, so we started with an understanding of what it meant to fear God and God alone. From there, we looked at the undivided heart and how true fear of God can so overwhelm us that it can bring the heart back to its one rightful object of worship. We will conclude by looking at the first two phrases.
The key word for me here is “reliance.” You can suggest your own synonym: trust, depend, count on, have confidence in, be sure about, etc. All of them point to an uncompromised attitude toward the source of our reliance. What is even more assuring is that it is the faithfulness of God upon which we rely. It should be staggering to us to consider the idea of the almighty God being faithful to us. Actually, in being faithful to us, he is simply being faithful to himself—to his own nature as the steadfast lover of our souls.
So, here is a progression. When we are overwhelmed by the fear of God, his sovereign majesty and amazing love and grace for us drive out any division in our hearts and focus us back solely and completely on him. As our hearts are healed, we are able to lead in absolute confidence of the faithfulness of God. As leaders we rely day-by-day, moment-by-moment on the unwavering presence, power, and transforming grace of the God who created us, redeemed us, and calls us back to himself in Jesus Christ.
All of this is ours as a part of the work of the faithful steward leader. This is a journey that requires a level of trust and obedience that is beyond ourselves. It is fraught with challenges we cannot overcome on our own, and it runs counter to the world in which we live, which means this journey always put us in tension and friction with the world. This is not the human way, the self-centered way, the world’s way of talking about ‘successful leadership’. It is God’s way, and for that reason, we need to pray every day, “Lord, teach us your way.”
Upon what or whom are you depending today? How you answer that question will determine your leadership style, shape your heart, and define your fears. What would it mean for you to rely solely on the faithfulness of God? Will you pray today, “Lord, teach me your way?”
Depending on God for everything can be a rather overwhelming task. So, start small. Choose one thing in your work today that you believe you depend on more than you do God. It may be your skills, your team, your financial situation, your strategy, etc. Ask yourself, “Do I rely on this so much that I am fearful of losing it?” If so, let your focus today be on surrendering it back to God and asking that he show you his way. Your prayer should be for your reliance on God to replace every other reliance in your life.
See if one day of focus brings you a sense of freedom and peace in that area of your life. If so, make this yielding process a part of your daily walk or other daily introspective time, and one-by-one yield everything back to him until you begin to experience the joy of the undivided heart of a faithful steward.
