Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 NIV

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant Psalm 25:9-10 NIV

Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. Psalm 26:2-3 NIV

“Watch your step; choose your path carefully; look where you are going”. These are different ways of saying: “make wise choices in how, where, and when you choose to walk”. Imagine a young child who is still unsteady on their feet; the adult with the child may say similar things to guide the young one, to keep the child’s attention on where he or she puts his or her next step.

Our Heavenly Father gives us similar advice. Read Psalm 25 and Psalm 26. As you read, look for words that pertain to walking, sitting, paths to take, and who does the teaching and leading. Pay attention to the verbs in these two psalms and who is described as doing these actions. Did you see that we all have choices to make? Sometimes David describes how he has walked, or sometimes he is asking God to do something for him.

“Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” (Psalm 26:2-3) David asked God to look at his innermost character, his motivations, his thoughts, and to determine if David was making right, wise, and godly choices. David’s request reveals he was humble, that he admitted he needed God’s guidance and advice on how, where and when to walk.

Just like a young child, we all can choose to listen to the wise advice given us, or we can run headlong down a bumpy, dangerous, and ill advised route. In these two psalms, I see David asking for God’s guidance, seeking God’s truth, keeping his eyes on God’s faithfulness and love shown to David in his past, in order to enable David to make wise choices in how to walk in the future.

We all make choices in how we walk everyday. We can choose to obey or disobey God: we can choose to walk by our faith in God, or to walk by sight only. We can choose our path by following God’s truth, or by listening to false teaching that others profess. We can choose to walk in righteousness or in wickedness. Take some time today, respond to these psalms in prayer of confession. Admit before God: choices you have made – paths you have taken – that might have been unwise or bad.