Life is full of ups and downs. When everything seems to be going well—when we have friends and are at peace with those around us, when we have all the material things we need and are in good health—we feel good and acceptable. But when these things are lacking or we think we don’t have enough of them, we feel forsaken or abandoned, even by God Himself.
In Psalm 37, we have the testimony of an old man who had walked with God for many years through different stages of life—in his youth, in middle age, and now as an old man. His name was David, and he was the second king of Israel. He says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread†(Psalm 37:25). In his own life, David had experienced war, loss, violence, and death threats, yet He knew God was his protector, provider, and healer. He saw what happened to people who followed God, and people who didn’t. In the same Psalm, he says, “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous†(Psalm 37:16-17).
What does it mean to be righteous? Psalm 37 gives several examples, but simply put, being righteous is being right with God and honoring Him in everything we do. But we can’t be righteous on our own. Apart from Jesus, we are all “wicked,†and our sin leads to death. Yet God loves us, and Jesus died and rose again so that we could “become the righteousness of God†(2 Corinthians 5:21). If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can follow His good ways even as we rest in God’s promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you†(Hebrews 13:5).
When it seems like we do not have enough, we can remember that God cares about our needs (Matthew 6:31-34), and we can ask Him for help, remembering that He gives us strength to be content in every situation (Philippians 4:11-13). When things are not going well and we start to wonder where God has gone, let us remember the testimony of this old man David, for God is with us in every situation and He will never leave us alone. • Enid Adah Nyinomujuni
• Have you ever felt forsaken by those around you, even by your own relatives? (Psalm 27:10)
• Do you sometimes feel like God has forsaken you? You can be honest with God about this. As you come to Him, He will reveal Himself to you. He is trustworthy and good, and He loves you.
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken… Psalm 37:25a (NIV)
Read Verses:
Gen.45.1-Gen.45.15|Rom.12.17-Rom.12.21
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