When I was a young boy, I thought that after David slayed Goliath that he immediately became king and all was well with him for the rest of his life. As I grew, and read my Bible, I realized how wrong I was about this. David had to go through many trials before he became king.
In chapters 18 to 20 of 1 Samuel we see how Saul is becoming more and more jealous of David.
He has thrown a spear at him twice in chapter 18, he sent his attendants to David's house to kill him, and he has thrown a spear at his own son, Jonathan, in chapter 20.
David was experiencing great distress. He wrote Psalm 59 in response to these distresses in his life.
In Psalm 59, David writes about his enemies,
" 1Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!"
But in the midst of his troubles, he knows that the Lord is his strength and calls on Him for help.
9" O my Strength, I watch for you;you, O God, are my fortress, 10 my loving God.
God will go before me
and will let me gloat over those who slander me."
16" But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you;
you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
We all have and will experience trials and tribulations in this life. James and Paul both write of this and give reasons why we experience them:
James 1:2-4 : 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Romans 5:3-5 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
When we experience trials and tribulations and sufferings in our life we have a choice to make. We can become bitter about our present circumstances and turn away from God or we can come closer to God.
I know many of you are going through trials now in your life. I am not saying that your circumstances are pleasant. What David went through was not pleasant. But in the midst of all these adversities in his life, David wrote some of the most glorious Psalms that praise God for His goodness and grace.
These experiences in his life strengthened his faith. One last thing I would like to share.
As we go through difficult times in our lives, also realize that God may be using these times to strengthen us so that we may minister to those who are experiencing similar trials in the future.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from GodSoli Deo Gloria.
Today's post was submitted by Russ Shellhamer.
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