Psalm 143:7-11 “Guidance”

I have spent much of my life going back and forth to Germany, as many of you know. Most of the time I have flown into Frankfurt Airport. This because my aunt and Uncle lived close to the airport in the town of Mainz. The airport is actually right in between Mainz and Frankfurt. Although I enjoyed and preferred taking public transportation, that is the local train, to and from Mainz to the airport, my aunt and uncle would always insist on picking me up and dropping me off–until such time as they became too old to do that anymore.

The very last time that they took me out to the Frankfurt Airport in their little Volkswagen some years ago now, there was some construction on the Autobahn leading into the airport. There were orange cones, construction barriers, and many directional signs that were posted. Now the problem with the Autobahn is that for the most part people drive too fast to read the little orange construction directions that are posted. Somehow we missed the turn off to get to the departure hall and found ourselves heading back in the direction of Mainz. Both my Aunt and Uncle were completely stressed out and turning frantic as they had no idea how to get back to the airport.

There was an interchange ahead of us that was leading off to Bonn/Cologne to the North, not the direction of the airport, but off in the distance on that route I could just make out an overpass that I assumed would allow us to cross over and then into the right direction to the airport again. I almost had to yell at my aunt and uncle to head in that direction. It was a fight.

“We do not want to go to Cologne! We want to go to the airport!” came the frustrated reply.

“Trust me! I grew up in Los Angeles on a freeway! We will go over the overpass and come back.” I assured them. Yes, we made it over the overpass and back to the right direction that brought us back to the airport. Somehow we missed the ramp to the dropoff point and said our goodbyes in the parking garage entrance instead. I called my aunt and uncle before boarding my flight just to make sure they made it back to their home in Mainz.

Maybe you are catching on to why I prefer to take the train!

But, just like this story of driving on the Autobahn, sometimes we miss the detours we are supposed to take to get us to where we really are supposed to be. Sometimes we are just driving off as fast as we can in the wrong direction. Sometimes the signs just are not big enough. Sometimes the people who are traveling with us do not speak up loud enough and in time for us to hear their proper guidance for us!

Do you see the first words in verse 7? “Answer me quickly, O Lord.” Some translations have the word “speedily” rather than “quickly.” I like this translation of the Hebrew “maher” much better as there be an implied urgency.

You might be thinking that back in David’s time, nothing could be that “urgent.” It is not like today when we have all sorts of deadlines and schedules we have to keep in our modern mindset. Of course, nobody in David’s time had to make it to the airport on time! No, all they had to do back then was save themselves from an attacking army, save the herd from an attacking predator, or bring in what can be harvested before the locusts take it all. They had nothing at all as serious as missing the buffet at their hotel–for which I see people hurrying all over this island. “They might run out of MaiTai’s” Hurry scurry! Back in David’s time, one acted speedily as it was usually a matter of life and death!

The rest of verse 7 says that the urgency is caused by the threat of King David landing in Gehenna, that is to say “hell.” Our bibles say “the Pit.” This is not a reference to coming late to the movie theatre and having to sit in the very front row. King David is imploring God to give him the guidance he needs so as not to land in Hell–and to do it urgently or speedily.

What was going on in David’s life? You know, just the usual political betrayals, murder, illicit affairs, and the like. Honestly, I have always been surprised how God used a person like David as God did. Shootz he had so many flaws and foibles! And that Jesus should be in his line of descendancy? Crazy stuff!

The answer to this question is simply that King David always sought out God’s guidance in his life–and especially when he screwed up! He knew that his life was on a trajectory to hell and turned to God for salvation.

Jesus himself always sought out God’s guidance. He snuck away to the temple when he was a young boy to hear the holy scriptures in the temple and argue with the priests (Luke 2:41). Jesus loved to go out to be alone with God in prayer. It seems he would go get recharged and affirmed in the ministry that way. Even as his own death on the Cross was pending and he was about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was seeking God’s guidance in prayer. In the end he states “Your will, not my will be done.” (Luke 22:42)

When asked how we should pray by His disciples, Jesus spoke the words of what today we know as the Lord’s Prayer: “. . . .Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a very accurate translation of the phrase as it is found in the Greek of the New Testament. “God, I am not going to be doing my thing, but I am going to be doing yours. Your Will be done!”

Since we are living in Hawaii, I have to mention that the translation of this Lord’s Prayer from Jesus is a little bit tweaked to the culture perhaps: I do not know if you noticed that when we say this part of the prayer in Hawaiian, the concept of “respect” is introduced here: “. . .e malama ‘ia kou makemake ma ka honua nei. . . .” This is more like “allow us to respect your will for us.”

When this prayer is translated from English to Hawaiian to Pidgen it comes out like this:

God, you our Fadda. You stay inside da sky.

We like all da peopo know fo shua how you stay,

an dat you stay good an spesho,

an we like dem give you plenny respeck.

We like you come King fo everybody now.

We like everybody make jalike you like, ova hea inside da world,

jalike da angel guys up inside da sky make jalike you like

So, in regular English we pray that God’s Will be done, but in Hawaii we pray that people will respect God’s Will. We know that God’s Will is going to be done. It is after all God’s Will! Our part is to respect God’s Will over our lives. I am not sure who translated this first into Hawaiian, it may have in fact been Samuel Whitney, who was one of the first missionaries here in Waimea in 1820. He was indeed very involved in providing for the Bible to be translated into Hawaiian. It excites me to think that this work was being done right here in Waimea–and that this was respecting the will of God.

So, if God in God’s own way sent you an email asking you the simple question: “How have you respected me this last week? List five examples!” You would be able to respond positively. “Lord, this is how I made sure Your Will was done this last week–”

In this Psalm 143 we read these words again and again: “Answer me, answer me quickly, let me hear, and teach me.” All of this is asking for God’s guidance. King David is beseeching God not to hear David’s prayers as much as to allow himself to hear God’s Word over his life.

Going back to my Aunt and Uncle in Germany and the adventures of driving on the Autobahn, the other side of driving in Germany is finding a parking space. You might be able to drive as fast as you want to on the Autobahn, but the reality is that you will have nowhere to park when you get wherever you are going. Whatever amount of time you thought you saved by driving 200 kph, you will invariably lose circling around the block waiting for someone to pull out. Then, you will still have to walk at least twenty minutes!

So, we taught my Aunt a “parking prayer” that we learned from a catholic friend in Seattle. It goes like this: “Hail Mary, full of Grace, help us find a parking space!” I have come to the conclusion that the prayer is very potent and works a great deal of the time. However, one must be open to hearing where that space is going to be! I know it sounds strange, but even in these little things we must listen to God’s guidance. If you can hear God’s guidance in everyday things, you will hear God’s guidance in the larger, more urgent questions of life for sure. You will be well-practiced in finding direction through prayer.

I will implore you therefore to listen to God for guidance in your life. Do not just pray the list of what you want from God, but rather listen to what God wants in your life this day–the direction you are supposed to be traveling. After all, Jesus said to “Pick up the Cross and Follow.”

Amen.