To Encourage You

2 Samuel 22:1-4 “And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.  He said, ‘The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

One of the things that should differentiate believers from unbelievers is their viewpoint when afflictions of various kinds come into their lives.  Have you been around people who constantly complain about their troubles in life? Do you know people that are almost always bitter?  It seems nothing is ever right with them, and they are all too ready to tell you about it.  It’s a “poor me” attitude that can wear on anyone who happens to listen.  

But then there are those who are marked by a completely different outlook on life, although their problems may be just as bad or worse than that of others around them.  These people tend to almost always be joyful.  As one of my neighbors remarked about a friend who had suffered from cancer for many years, “He NEVER complains.” It’s remarkable!  

So, what’s the difference between these two types of people? And which type would you rather be?  It was those thoughts that came to my mind as I read 2 Samuel 22 which was written during the latter years of King David’s life.  It’s a song that David wrote after years of incredible hardship and conflict.  He remembered being viewed with disdain by his older brothers. He remembered facing Goliath with nothing but a sling and stone. He remembered being hunted like an animal year after year by King Saul.  He had fought with the Philistines time after time. And then when he came to power, he endured multiple uprisings against the throne – one by his own son. He had endured the death of multiple children, the rape of his own daughter, and multiple situations where his life seemed to hang by a thread.  His life was one of hardship, conflict, and pain. But now that he had come to the end of it all, how did he see it, and what did he say?  His mouth was filled with praise to the God who had been faithful to him each and every day.  He saw how time after time God had delivered him. At times it was by the strength God had given him personally. At other times it was by the hand of a friend.  Sometimes he was provided with a hiding place in a cave or other remote place.  Often it was by way of the soldiers in his army who had risked their lives on his behalf.  But in all of it he saw the hand of God.  He believed that it was God who had been continually with him. Often he was strengthened and sustained by the promises of God’s Word.  And even when David had sinned against God, bringing God’s discipline and justice as a result, David never turned away. He kept seeking the Lord, getting back up, and turning to Him again and again.  

Listen to David’s description of this God who had been his Shepherd every moment of every day: “my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, and my savior.”  It was as if he was searching for words to describe the hand of God in his life.  He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had been with him. He knew that God had always been true to His Word.  And so his mouth was filled with praise to the God Who was so worthy of it.  

Then I think of the apostle Paul in the New Testament.  Listen to how he gives us a rundown of HIS life: “with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.  Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).  And yet Paul could say (from prison, mind you), “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. THE LORD IS AT HAND; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).  

You see, Paul, and David before him, believed. They trusted the God Who had promised them that He would never leave them nor forsake them (Deuteronomy 31:6). The same God who had told them that they would face many trials, gave Him His Word that He would be very near them, working in and through them in those trials, and He had a purpose in it all. 

So, if you are a believer, is that how you see YOUR world? Is your focus on your troubles or on the God Who has told you that He “will keep your going out and your coming in FROM THIS TIME FORTH AND FOREVERMORE” (Psalm 121:8)? For you see, our attitude will reflect what we believe about such things, and we might as well believe the truth.