All Change! (@pamjweb, #bigread12)

Image provided by Pam Webster

When I get on a train, I like to get on a direct one, one that means I don’t have to change anywhere along the way.  Who wants to leave the comfort of a nice warm train for a cold platform to wait for another one?  Who wants to be bundling luggage more than they have to? Who really want to rely on the vagaries of timetables that two trains will actually meet in the same place at the right time?!

But sometimes the train you are on is not going where you need to be, and a change is required.

On Wednesday, Tom Wright reminded us that John the Baptist’s message was

It’s time for a change! (p2)

This Psalm, asks God to show us what our right path should be:

Psalm 25  

A psalm of David.

¹ O LORD, I give my life to you.
² I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
³ No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

⁴ Show me the right path, O LORD;
point out the road for me to follow.
⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.
⁶ Remember, O LORD, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
⁷ Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O LORD.

⁸ The LORD is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
⁹ He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
¹⁰ The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

So, if as part of our Lent reflection, we realise that we are not on the path we are meant to be, it is indeed “Time for a change”.

But there is no pointing leaping from one course and embarking on another without checking that is the one God has planned for us.  If we’re not on the right path, we have to find out what God’s path is. We wouldn’t change trains without checking the one we were about to get on was the right one.  We would consult a timetable, maybe even ask station staff if this is our train.  We would want to be sure we were going the right way.

This Psalm is asking God to show us the right way to go. Asking him to point us the way to follow and to guide us on the way.

Perhaps we think we have got things wrong, I’m sure we can all recall “the rebellious sins of my youth”, but we want to go God’s way now, and he will show us the way, if we are willing to let him.  God leads, God teaches – will we follow?  Are we really willing to take time and space to discover what his ways for us are?

So, as we journey through Lent, are we willing to let God show us his ways to go?  Will we take the time to ask him?