There is a Vacation Bible School song that has been so ingrained in my memory that it pops forward in my mind when I am going through a tough time, a challenging task, a time when others misunderstand me or when I just generally make a mess on the journey. It goes like this…

(I AM WILLING, LORD, circa 1977)
Sometimes when I am down
And I don’t feel like you’re around, oh Lord
Feelin’ so sorry for me
Not knowing that all the while
You’re working to see if, when I’m put thru’ the fire
I’ll come out shinin’ like gold
Oh Lord, Lord please don’t ever stop working with me
‘Til you see I can be all You want me to be

I am willing, Lord
I am willing, Lord
To be just exactly what You want me to be

Often when I ask why
Teach me then on You to rely, oh Lord
You surely know what is best
May I learn that in confidence and strength I can rest
Then, leaning fully on You
My questions fall one by one
Dear Lord, Lord please don’t ever stop working with me
‘Til you see I can be all You want me to be

I am willing, Lord
I am willing, Lord
To be just exactly what You want me to be

Wow! It seems David felt the same way as we read and meditate on this next psalm. It begins with praise and thanksgiving for God’s love ad faithfulness. It ends with “finish what you started in me, God”. Isn’t that the prayer of all of us? We are human. We don’t always make the right call in life situations, but we learn and grow with God helping us to BE “just exactly what He wants us to be” and then do.

Psalm 138, The Message

A David Psalm

1-3 Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”
Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: “Thank you!”
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.

4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,
all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”
They’ll sing of what you’ve done:
“How great the glory of God!”
And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;
no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

7-8 When I walk into the thick of trouble,
keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
strike my foes,
With your other hand
save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

By the way…
God will not quit on us! We learned that yesterday. This psalm of David’s is a precursor to our next, infamous Psalm 139, which extols God as knowing everything about us. It is David’s song of repentance, asking God to guide him to be “just exactly” what He wants him to be.

We praise God for His work in us because of His forever love for us. Oh Lord, Lord please don’t ever stop working with me
‘Til you see I can be all You want me to be
I am willing, Lord, I am willing, Lord
To be just exactly what You want me to be

In Jesus Name, Amen