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My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Ever notice how it seems like evil always triumphs over good? Does it frustrate you when you hear of really good people, giving people, spiritual people who go through physical, emotional, financial or relational attack? Do you sometimes find yourself looking to heaven and asking God: “What do I have to do to get you listen to me? Do you see what’s going on down here?

If you have ever had any of these feelings then you understand a little better the emotional struggle David is writing about in Psalm 73. David was completely happy tending sheep. It was predictable with a certain amount of adventure. Sheep are stupid animals but even in their stupidity they were easier to get along with than people. He was able to enjoy the beauty and wonder of God’s creation on a daily basis. Being a shepherd was a lonely life, but it was safe.

Then along comes some prophet and changes all that. Soon he found himself anointed king and living in a palace where his boss, the current king, felt threatened and tried to kill him, even chasing him down with the army!

Most of us don’t have physical armies chasing us or evil kings (or people) trying to kill us. But we struggle daily with other enemies. Relationships, finances, health issues, job-related issues take their toll on our emotional strength.

We suffer from the bruises and scars of our past. Some of those scars cover wounds that run deep from abusive parents, siblings or ex-spouses. We ask for relief. We plead with God to do something. Yet nothing seems to help.

Others of us may face the constant battle of addictions. Drugs, alcohol, sex and lust are the ones we think of first when we talk about addictions, but what about the addictive tendencies to always react with anger, of burying our pain in food or other safe things that really don’t do our body any good. We beg. We plead. We bargain with God.

“If you will only release me from this I’ll… (Fill in the blank)” But there is no response from heaven.

David says (my paraphrase), ‘Every emotion I have right now is negative. I feel like my very insides are tied up in one big knot. I feel like a complete failure and see no hope for my future. Everything seems stacked up against me.’

But then David remembers one thing and this one thing is what empowers him to move on, to fight for what is right, to never give up. It’s the one thing we as Christ-followers can always count on. When everything else seems uncertain, the one thing we can cling to, like a rock in the midst of a rushing river is this: “God is always with me and loves me.” He knows the battle you are fighting right now. He knows how weak you feel. He refuses to give up on you! That’s grace. That’s deliverance.

Our reputations, our relationships, our health can be destroyed by evil people, but nothing can take God’s love from us. Are you facing a struggle today that seems to big for you to handle? Hang on tightly to your faith in God. Never give up fighting for the right. Never stop living for Jesus. He remains the one constant in a volatile world.

PRAYER: Holy God. I thank and praise you for your love, mercy and grace. I thank you for the fact that even when I can’t see you, you see me clearly. I thank you that when others attack me, you know my heart and my motives. Empower me with Your Spirit to keep fighting the good fight. Help me rest in your loving arms in the midst of the battle. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.