Good news in times of trouble
O Lord, in Your strength the king rejoices, and in Your salvation how greatly he exults! You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
Psalms 21:1-2 (ESV)
It seems today that the world around us is falling apart. Whether it’s through politics, wars with other nations, and natural disasters, chaos abounds. For over a year, turmoil has wrecked the globe with a pandemic. It has been hard to find good, encouraging stories.
The man who wrote Psalm 21 knows a thing or two about turmoil. His name is David, the former king of Israel, the man who slayed Goliath. He was quite famous, yet his world was crashing in around him. He had to literally run for his life and hide when the previous king Saul wanted to kill him out of jealousy. Many of us can’t comprehend what David was experiencing during those times.
David knew about hardship, but he also knew how to talk to God. He wrote Psalms 23:1-2, where it says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.”
Despite the calming and encouraging words, David was reaching out to God in a time of need. The good news is that God is always there in our time of need. We just have to reach out to him. David knew how to do that with all the craziness going on around him. He was just human like all of us.
When your world has lost hope, remember the hope you have in Jesus. Even with all the terrible things going on in your life, you still have God to lean on. We can rejoice in His strength. We can exalt Him when He saves us.
This week, remind someone about the goodness God provides. With God on our side, we can do all things. Reach out and praise Him in the midst of trouble.