Daily Devotional for Sunday, June 9

David Cries to the Lord

“Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men,” Psalm 12:1.

When I was young, Dad and I would go hunting together. As I grew a bit older, I would go on my own, but we had a signal if I got separated or lost (this was long before the days of cell phones): shoot twice in the air, then Dad would come find me. One evening after dark, I was still on my deer stand waiting for Dad to pick me up. I saw his lights coming across the field, but halfway through, he turned around and started to leave the field. I did not know it, but he came across a flooded area and had to find another way. I, however, thought I was being abandoned. I quickly became afraid of being left the whole night, so I sounded the signal, unloading both barrels of my shotgun into the air. When he did arrive a few minutes later, I was quickly ashamed of my fear and impatience in the dark.

In a similar way, we believers often feel like David did: abandoned and alone. We look at the world around us and feel that everything is falling apart. Great sin abounds, and there are very few followers of God left. We see politicians, leaders and our culture in general fleeing from righteousness and embracing immorality, all the while claiming that those who hold to a biblical morality are bigots and hateful. We feel that we are the only ones left who love the Lord. David felt this way, Elijah felt this way, and many believers throughout history have felt this way.

God reminds us, though, that He is in charge and that He will preserve His people. We may often feel that we are alone, and true godliness may often be in the minority. With God, however, we are never alone nor forsaken.

REFLECTION
Crying to the Lord about our sense of isolation is allowed; clinging to God’s promise of His presence is required.

Jason Rutherford