The person whom God guides is the person who depends on his grace. It is not always easy to trust God. But it is always right to—because he promises his grace to those who trust him, a grace that knows no limits.
Throughout Psalm 25 David talks about God’s deliverance, and the pinnacle of this deliverance is expressed in the psalm’s central verse: “All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 25:10).
The word translated “steadfast love” is hesed: God’s unconditional, wholly committed covenant love for his people. If you are trusting Christ, then everything God is doing in your life now is based on unconditional love. God is not holding grudges against you for past sins, even the most perverse ones. Nor is he disappointed with you for present and persistent flaws. He’s most definitely not ashamed of you because of something someone else has done to you.
If you think God is simply “putting up” with you—or if you think he is, candidly, a little annoyed with you—then you’ll struggle to believe that he wants blessing for you. Any time you experience God’s abundant goodness to you, you’ll be waiting for the other shoe to drop. You’ll be worrying that God is up there thinking, You don’t think you really deserve this good thing, do you? I’m going to have to make something bad happen to you to even the score. Every blessing in your life will be met with fear, as you assume that a just God can’t let you to be too happy for too long.
But that’s the opposite of how the gospel teaches us to think. The good news of the gospel is that what God gives you, and where God guides you, is never based on your worthiness or performance. It’s based on what he’s given you in Jesus. Thank God! Because of the finished work of Christ, he sees you now only as a beloved, innocent child over whom he dotes (Zephaniah 3:17).
In other words, the other shoe already dropped—on Jesus. He took your sin and the condemnation it deserved, so that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Nothing remains for us but joy and happiness: “the blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).
When we depend on his grace, we can rest securely knowing that God guides us only in paths of blessing. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us for every second of every day for the rest of eternity, and we will dwell in his house as beloved children forever—the happy sheep of his pasture. All the promises of God are yes in Christ Jesus!
J.D. Greear join James and Betty this Thursday to discuss the joy of prayer. Excerpted from Just Ask by J.D. Greear. Copyright ©J.D. Greear, 2021. Published by The Good Book Company. Used by permission.
