October 18 – Never abandoned

I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.  (Psalm 37:25  HCSB)

King David had seen many things in his life.  He began as a simple, unknown shepherd boy, the last of eight brothers, and rose to become one of the greatest leaders of Israel, and their greatest king.  Throughout his life he was overlooked, laughed at, betrayed, cheated, lied to, disrespected, attacked, ambushed, accused of being proud and treated as a traitor, but he also had amazing victories, stayed strong in his faith, served as an example for his people and died with his salvation intact.

Clearly David (and the Holy Spirit) is not telling us to expect a problem-free life.  Without a doubt there were times that David was tempted to feel abandoned, when his prayers were not being answered, and when it seemed like circumstances and his enemies were stronger than he was.  But every time, in the end, David could say that God came through for him, that he was not abandoned, that his children did not need to beg for food.

Victory and blessings do not always mean a trouble-free life.  Troubles are one of our greatest teachers.  We learn the most when we’re going through rough times.  We draw closest to God when we are in trouble and feel inadequate.  So when God promises never to abandon us He is not saying that He’ll block all problems from entering our lives.  What He is promising is that we will have problems, but as we persevere and refuse to give in to doubt and fear, we will see His power and answers.

As long as we stay close to God by having faith and trusting that “all things work for the good”, we will never be abandoned.  David was not abandoned, and he states that he had never seen the righteous abandoned, even at the end of a long, full life.  Why should we listen to the opposite?  Shouldn’t we trust the Word of God and the testimony of a man of God that experienced all sorts of trials and came out on top?  Put the devil in his place when he comes with whispers of how God might not take care of you this time.