The Moments That Sustain Us

When life falls apart, what do you do?

All of us face hard circumstances—and some of these are very painful situations that last a long time. Unless we have a purposeful focus, joy can fade and hope may seem unattainable.

King David experienced extreme hardships, including the grief of losing both a child and a best friend. He also endured Saul’s attempts to kill him and, later on, a rebellion led by his own son. But even in hard times, David found hope and peace in God.

Why was David able to trust in the Lord? Because he knew how to meditate. That is, he focused his mind and spirit on God’s character, ways, and will in order to know the Lord better and obey Him.

What do you think about during the day? Do you set aside time to dwell solely on Jesus? Remind yourself periodically to bring your attention back to the Creator—one way to do this is to read several psalms and notice how the author refocuses on almighty God.

By continually focusing on God, David found peace in the midst of turmoil. We would be wise to follow his example. During times of difficulty, set your eyes on the Father and meditate on His Word.

Psalm 145:1-21

I will ^]extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. ²Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. ³Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is ^]unsearchable.

⁴One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. ⁵ ^]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And^]on Your wondrous works. ⁶Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. ⁷They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness. ⁸The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy. ⁹The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. ¹⁰All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You. ¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, ¹²To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. ¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all ^]generations.

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. ¹⁵The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. ¹⁶You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. ¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. ¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. ²⁰The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. ²¹My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.