Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/420759
December 20 Psalm 32:8–9 Keeping in Step Elisabeth Nesbit, PhD Assistant Professor of Counseling I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you" (Ps. 32:8–9). Too often each of us can get caught up in believing that we can do things on our own, preoccupied by our own sense of self-competence, self-importance, or self-sufficiency. We can trot on in our own strength, following what seems like a good idea, convincing ourselves it must be what God wants, too. In this haze of self-competency, we often forget to be still and dependently seek His instruction. Instead, many of us find ourselves on autopilot, driven by the stresses, pressures, traditions, and expectations that surround us. We go about our own way, so determined and focused that it would take a bit and bridle to get us to change course. What would it mean to walk so closely in step with the Lord that the only thing needed to redirect your course was a gentle word of instruction or counsel, a nudging of your heart? I went through a ten-year season in which God regularly used physical pain and illness to get my attention, humble my spirit, and create a sense of dependency on Him. Talk about using a bit and bridle—it was gloriously awful! is passage became, and years later continues to be, my prayer as it offers a gentle reproof while inviting us into an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord, in which He personally invests in our life steps. is holiday season, I invite you to pray this passage over your heart, your mind, and your home. Acknowledge and confess the "bits and bridles" that have been needed to bring you into obedience. en, surrender to this kind, caring, present God, and ask Him to give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to comply with His leading, His instruction, and His will. Finally, give thanks and take rest in a God who is willing to not just instruct and teach, but to counsel and care for you. Find comfort in the Good Shepherd who is kind enough to go with you, to be near you, and to watch over you (Deut. 31:8; Jer. 23:23–24a). 15