“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
Psalm 32:8
Counsel, Not Scorn
This psalm was written by David, and he is quoting from the Lord that God will instruct him and teach him in the way he should go. This comes back to wisdom, that God freely gives instruction, that He freely gives advice on the way to go. In fact, David continues in his psalm and says that the Lord will counsel you and that His loving eye is on you. So yes, He freely gives wisdom. He freely gives instruction and knowledge. He freely gives teaching, and He is willing to tell you which way to go and how to get there. But beyond that, He'll also give you advice. He'll advise you. He'll counsel you. And it's not with a scornful eye or a hateful eye. It's with a loving eye on you, because the Lord wants the best for you, and He will help you reach that goal.
Ask Him Directly
And so the application here is to seek the Lord in what He wants you to do. Obviously, the Great Commission tells us that we need to go out and tell all the earth, baptizing people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But we each have a specific purpose in life as well, whether that's teaching scripture, being a good parent, or helping others by being a tutor. There is no shortage of specific purposes we have in our life.
Our goal, our aim, the application of this verse is to ask the Lord, “What would you have me do?” and then go out and do it.
Prayer
So Father, what would you have us do? Help us to see you and to hear you as we go throughout our lives. Help us to take today to think on you, to think about you, and to think about what you would have us do. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.