Lead Me on Level Ground
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalms 143:10 NIV
I am so grateful for His word that teaches us how to live. As I started to look more closely at Psalm 143:10, these two scriptures also came to mind:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 NKJV
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
Today I am reminded through his word that His Spirit gives us a spirit of power of love and of sound mind. His good spirit will lead us on level ground and give us freedom. When we allow His spirit to lead, He will keep us on the right path. It’s so easy these days to get caught up in fear. Fear and anxiety have become its own pandemic within the pandemic. We have all experienced the shortages in supplies, rising prices on everything, and it feels like we are on a rollercoaster in our world today. I’m sure most of us in the midst of the craziness around us has been fearful and anxious to some degree at some point. We learn that this fear does not come from God. He doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. He gives us a spirit of love, and power, and a sound mind. When we are in a place of fear, it can cause panic, bad decisions, and compromise. We will settle for something less to calm the fear.
For example in my own life, last week I sent my kids to the store on the search for Siracha sauce. When we heard of the shortage of peppers and that the sauce would not be manufactured for a while, I went into instant panic — I mean who can live without Siracha?! Haha. All they found was off brand, so we have a stash of something I really don’t like. But we have some. Then my husband went to the store yesterday and the shelves were stocked.This may be a silly small example, but so many times we make decisions from a place of fear. Hand raised! Guilty! He tells us not to go into freak-out mode but to allow His good spirt that lives within us lead the way down a path on level ground. A path of freedom! We can start each day spending time with Him, finding peace and allowing His spirit to prevail. We can operate in the power and love that He gives us, trusting Him to lead the way. We can approach each circumstance with the sound mind He gave us so we don’t end up with a compromise… like a bunch of off-brand Siracha!
Father I come to you today desperate for your will be done in our lives. I thank you that you teach us how to do your will and allow your Spirit to lead us. Sometimes it’s hard things we must walk through, and we have to wait longer than we would like. Remind us in these times not to fear, but to trust and spend time with you so that we may be filled with your spirit that will lead the way. I thank you that in every season you are faithful and that you fill us with your good spirit to be able to press forward and overcome, while you set our path straight. Amen
Illustrations by Haley Punjak
Edited by Rachel Harmening