Some people's hair has a will of its own. It knows where it wants to go and stubbornly resists all attempts to make it go elsewhere. Others have very manageable hair. It willingly does whatever the stylist decides it should do. It knows who's boss and gladly receives all the help it can get. With that help, results can be astounding.

People can be self-willed too. Psalm 32 says that we can sometimes be like a horse or a mule that lacks understanding (v.9). God knows we need all the help we can get, so He longs for us to give Him control of our lives. He wants to instruct us in the way we should go and guide us with His watchful eye (v.8).

Those who yield to God's purposes are not spineless. Having made God's will their own, theirs is the strongest will possible. By exchanging their own agenda for God's, their lives produce some amazing, God-glorifying results.

Whose agenda are you following--yours or God's? David, the composer of today's psalm, knew the futility of living for himself (vv.3-5). As you submit to the Lord's direction, you'll prove in your own experience what David found to be true in his: God's mercy surrounds the person who surrenders to Him (v.10).  — Joanie Yoder