I don’t know about you, but I’m a fixer. Maybe you’re a fixer, or you know someone who is. When I see a problem, I want to get to it and find a solution. I think when it comes to our own suffering, we all very easily become fixers. We hurry ahead, looking for the quickest way out without stopping to ask ourselves if that way is really the best way. 

That’s why I love that this verse is tucked in David’s cry to the Lord. Amidst his plea for deliverance, David surrenders to God and His will. “Teach me to do your will,” he says. What a beautiful plea! 

See, David understood that the only way out of the mess he found himself in was through God and surrendering to His will. He knew who was in control. David wasn’t weak or incapable. In fact, the Bible tells us that he was a mighty leader. But he was also a man after God’s heart. The might and strength he had in himself came second to the all-powerful God he served.  

All too often we fall into the trap of thinking that we’ve got it all figured out. We think we see all the right paths and understand all the right options. But when we aren’t willing to cry out to God like David did and plead, “Teach me to do Your will,” we will miss the best way every time. When we don’t surrender our knowledge, strength, and abilities to God, we will often rob ourselves of the very deliverance we are striving for.  

See obedience is key here. We have to posture our hearts to choose to obey. We must have the “yes, Lord” already on our lips when we come to Him. And in that heart of obedience, we will position ourselves to fully receive God’s deliverance. It’s about recognizing who God is- that He is good, that He sees more of the picture than we do, that He is faithful, that He is powerful, and that His ways are always best.  

It’s about trusting Him to lead us out of the dark, knowing that the best we can do on our own is stumble around hurting ourselves as we claw for the light. Surrender to God is the light switch being turned on. The Holy Spirit illuminates the path we couldn’t see before and opens the door that we couldn’t open before.  

I don’t know what dark hallways you’re standing in today, groping around for some sort of semblance of a way through. I don’t know how many doors you’ve knocked on hoping at least one will open. I don’t know how desperate you are to figure a way out. But wherever you are, whether you are standing in the dark now, have in the past, or will be in the future, I do know this… God is good. You can trust Him fully to lead you. So, instead of striving today to figure out all the answers and find the solutions on your own, just stop, turn to the Creator, and echo the words of David from so long ago: “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”