“Life will get better!” “Look up and smile!” We say these words to encourage each other as we go through troubles. Believers in Jesus know that Jesus is our Teacher, Savior and Lord.  So, when we’re down, we must look up and focus on the Teacher who stands in the trial with us ready to help.  The joy of the Lord IS our strength!

What words of truth do you fall back on when you are weary of life’s challenges and depressed by unexpected setbacks?

David knows because his life began with being the youngest of many brothers who taunted him.  He was not considered a person of value; only a boy sent to watch over sheep.  He knew the sheep were considered more valuable than he was. He knew his position in the family and accepted it.  But God entered David’s heart and began molding this lowly child out in the fields with the sheep into a warrior of a man who trusted God with his entire being. By God’s strength and power; he fought lions and other predators as he defend the sheep put in his care. God had much bigger plans for David than his father, brothers, or sisters could have imagined! God shaped the life of David to become the new king of Israel!  Generations later, in the line of David, the birth the King of Glory would occur—God’s Plan all along!  Wow.

David looks up to God and asks to “be schooled of all God’s ways”.  This is a man after God’s own heart.  Who schools us?  Who is the greatest influence in our lives right now?  Who do we listen to most and think about often?  Who is the most trust worthy person in our lives? Who we think about most will be reflected in our behaviors because we become who we adore with awe, respect with humbled attitudes, and cling to with grateful hearts.  

Psalm 25, The Message

^1-2 My head is high, God, held high;
I’m looking to you, God;
No hangdog skulking for me.

³ I’ve thrown in my lot with you;
You won’t embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?

Don’t embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.

⁴ Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.

⁵ Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?

⁶ Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

⁷ Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, God!

⁸ God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.

⁹ He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.

¹⁰ From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.

¹¹ Keep up your reputation, God;
Forgive my bad life;
It’s been a very bad life.

¹² My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.

¹³ They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.

¹⁴ God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.

¹⁵ If I keep my eyes on God,
I won’t trip over my own feet.

¹⁶ Look at me and help me!
I’m all alone and in big trouble.

¹⁷ My heart and mind are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.

¹⁸ Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.

¹⁹ Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?

²⁰ Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don’t let me down when I run to you.

²¹ Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.

²² God, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Other people may lift up their hearts and minds to idols and fill their souls with these manufactured substitutes for God, but David lifted his heart up to the Lord, for He is the only true source of encouragement. In one of the darkest hours of David’s life, when David had lost everything, he “strengthened himself in the LORD his God” (See 1 Samuel 30:6).  David knew and now we know.  Look up!

Knowing that the Lord has a plan for our lives, and that this plan is the very best for us, should give us great joy and confidence as we seek His will.  “Seek God first”, says Jesus to his followers with directions of where to look and who to trust for Life!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:25-33, ESV

Trust God. He knew what we needed most—real life with real love that is relentless for our souls. 

Trust God.  He wants the best for us, so He sent a part of Himself to save us from our sins—all of them—to be remembered no more!

Trust God.  He knows what He is doing.

Lord,

Let the morning bring word of your unfailing love for I put all my trust in you.  Show me the right path to take and teach me Your ways for my life is entrusted to your care.

You are Life and you are Love!

In Jesus Name, Amen