Daily Devotional for Sunday, August 4

David’s Trials and Testimony

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved,” Psalm 55:22.

About ten years ago, my father suffered a major stroke. It rendered the left side of his body immovable, and he completely lost his ability to speak. For a preacher, that was devastating. However, with much prayer and months of therapy, his speech returned. Then slowly his left leg regained a bit of strength, although not enough to walk. It became evident he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Due to his weakness and high fall risk, there have been many broken bones, hospital visits and physical therapists over the years. Yet, my dad once told me, “I thank God for my stroke. Otherwise, I would never have learned to depend on Him like I do now.”

The trials we face have a purpose. They cause us to grow and mature in our faith. They give us a testimony of how the Lord sustained us during the most difficult seasons of our lives. David’s troubles were intense, and he experienced discouragement, sadness, fear and even depression at times. But he trusted in the Lord and made Him his refuge in the storm. His testimony of God’s faithfulness is written in the Psalms and has been sung by many throughout the generations of time.

The Lord Jesus desires to use the trials you are facing as a testimony of His goodness and grace in your life. Hopefully, these experiences will teach you to have compassion for those going through similar circumstances. The difficult times in this life should cause you to depend on Christ fully and to grow in His love. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2, 3).

REFLECTION
How can you turn the trials you are facing into a testimony of Jesus Christ?

Darla Goodrum