Finding God's Path In A World Of Trouble Series

Introduction: The Cry of a Lost Soul

Have you ever felt truly and utterly lost? This does not refer merely to taking a wrong turn in a strange city, although that is a powerful feeling of disorientation. It refers to being lost in the landscape of your own life. You stand at a crossroads, and every path forward is shrouded in fog. You face a decision where the consequences are heavy, and the right choice is unclear. You are surrounded by troubles—what the Psalmist calls "enemies" and "nets"—and you feel desolate and afflicted.

In these moments, the human heart cries out for a guide. We long for a map, a compass, or a Global Positioning System—a GPS—for the soul. This morning, we turn our hearts to Psalm 25, a prayer penned by a man who knew this feeling intimately. King David, a man after God's own heart, was also a man of deep troubles, profound failures, and desperate circumstances.

In this Psalm, he does not offer us a simple three-step solution to all our problems. Instead, he gives us something far more valuable: a model of how to cry out to God from the maze of life. He teaches us how to orient our souls toward our Divine Guide. Psalm 25 is a beautiful, raw, and honest prayer. It is an acrostic psalm, meaning each verse in the original Hebrew begins with a successive letter of the alphabet, as if David is trying to pour out every possible expression of his heart from A to Z. In this comprehensive prayer, we find three foundational pillars for seeking and finding God's path: The Posture of Trust, the Petition for Guidance, and the Prerequisite of Humility.

I. The Posture of Trust (v. 1-3)

First, David shows us the necessary posture of the heart. Look at verse 1:

"Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul." (Psalm 25:1)

This is not a casual, flippant prayer; this is an act of total surrender. To "lift up the soul" is to offer the very essence of your being—your will, your emotions, your intellect, your future—to God. Imagine a small child, arms outstretched, wanting to be picked up by a loving father; the child holds nothing back. It is an act of complete dependence and trust.

This is the posture we must assume. We come to God not with our own maps and plans, asking Him to bless them. We come with empty hands and uplifted hearts, saying, "Lord, I give my very self to You. Take me. Carry me. I trust You".

This posture of trust is immediately followed by a plea for protection in verses 2 and 3:

"O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed..."

When you place your trust in someone, you are making yourself vulnerable. You are staking your reputation and your well-being on their character. David is saying, "Lord, I have placed all my hope in You. Do not let my trust be in vain. Vindicate my faith, so that the world will see that those who wait on You are never put to shame".

Our journey for guidance begins here: not with asking for directions, but with handing over the keys. It begins with lifting our soul to God and declaring, "I trust in Thee".

II. The Petition for Guidance (v. 4-5)

Having established the posture of his heart, David then makes his specific petition. Look at verses 4 and 5:

"Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."

Notice the progression here:

"Shew me thy ways." This is a plea for revelation. "Lord, open my eyes to see the grand map, Your overarching principles and purposes". These are the main highways of holiness and righteousness.

"Teach me thy paths." This is a plea for instruction. A "path" is smaller, more specific than a "way". This is the discipleship of daily living. "Lord, don't just show me the destination; teach me how to walk, how to place my feet, one step at a time". It's a prayer for wisdom in the nitty-gritty details of life.

"Lead me in thy truth." This is a plea for personal guidance. It's one thing to see the map and know the instructions, but it is another thing entirely to have the Guide walk beside you, holding your hand. David is asking for the active, moment-by-moment presence of God to lead him.

He asks this with confidence because, "thou art the God of my salvation". If God has already performed the greatest act of guidance—saving your eternal soul from the damnation of sin and death—can He not be trusted to guide your feet through the troubles of this temporary life? Of course, He can!