Since before the world was made, God has known you and loved you. He has never taken his eyes away or ignored you. If you were to write down all the blessings and victories he has given to you, they would prove he has called you, has been guiding you and has many wonderful things planned for your future. Do you believe this today? Is your life heading in a direction that you are excited about, or are you downcast?
At this time of year, it’s common for many people to be filled with a mixture of emotions. Some are dealing with anxiety, while others are walking through a time of sadness and loneliness. Maybe something negative happened this year and you have not recovered from it. Maybe you have experienced a terrible loss and are in agony while trying to appear that everything is all right. Along with 2022 coming to a close, we have the new year just a couple of weeks away, and fear of the unknown can be a little stressful.
Has disappointment in your past caused you to not be as confident or optimistic as you once were? Don’t worry. You are perfectly normal. We all have times in our lives when we are upset and feel that nothing is going right. Life is a series of ups and downs, and no matter how jolly of a personality you may have, there will be seasons when we search deep within ourselves to see if we are being attacked or maybe we need to forgive ourselves. Whatever the case, it’s easy to wallow in our sorrows, but when we turn our attention away from ourselves and focus on loving God and those around us, the dark clouds begin lifting and the joy and brightness of God’s presence will fill our hearts.
I want to share God’s Word with you from Psalm 42:5, repeated in verse 11, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” This is a passage from David. If you study his relationship with God, you know he had his share of sorrows, but he also learned how to encourage himself.
He wrote this when his son Absalom committed treason. Even through something as devastating as this, he expresses that hope becomes even more empowered when everything seems hopeless. He examines his own heart and comes to the understanding there are times we will not comprehend why we are going through trials, but we are to obey and glorify God while we are waiting for our answer.