But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me. —Psalm 13:5
I have been meditating a lot on the verse above. There is so much there that is full of encouragement and reassurance. When we are going through tough times, or we are struggling with something, often our thoughts become distorted. We end up not being able to see clearly, and this can lead to despair. So often in the Psalms, the Psalmist will pour out his heart to God (what he is really thinking), and often you see that after, he rights his way of thinking by remembering the Lord's mercy and love and the good things He has done. This short Psalm, written by King David, starts by him lamenting that he has been forgotten by God, that he is wrestling with his thoughts and has sorrow in his heart. Sound anything like what you may have experienced?
I found it fascinating that this tiny little Psalm gives us a model of how we can cope with troubling circumstances. We don't need to shove it down, be in denial, or pretend that nothing is wrong. By honestly letting out what we are feeling, that is the first step in determining if what we are feeling has any evidence to back it up. Who better to go to than the creator of the universe, God, who actually invites us to "cast our cares on Him for He cares for us" (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7)? He's a big God, He can handle anything we say—He actually knows what we're thinking before we say it (Psalm 139:4)!
After David laments about his miserable circumstances, he turns his attention to God.
Notice, the first word in the Scripture above is "but." Even with all the challenges David was facing, and the distressing thoughts he was thinking, he shifts and says, "But I trust in Your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in Your Salvation. The Bible often talks about having an eternal perspective or thinking about "heavenly things." When we meditate on the Lord's love and mercy for us, that He has saved us and given us eternal life (John 3:16), that should fill us with such gratitude and awe. This life is just like a grain of sand on a seashore, but eternity lasts forever. And, when we think back to all the other things in the here and now that He's done for us, ways that he's provided for us or blessed us, that shifts us out of the "black dot thinking" (only focusing on the negative while dismissing or ignoring any positive) and lightens our burdens and encourages us that we can fully trust in Him -- that He is good, loving. merciful and faithful. Like the Psalmist, lets meditate on His unfailing love and His goodness towards us so that we can sing praises of gratitude and thanksgiving, which will glorify Him and bring joy to our lives in this moment instead of discouragement and despair.
So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. –2 Corinthians 4:18
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