Focus on the Future

Psalm 41:1-13

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 ^(A)Blessed is the one who considers the poor!^{[a]
    (B)}In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
² the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you ^(C)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³ The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.^[b]

⁴ As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(D)be gracious to me;
    ^(E)heal me,^[c] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And when one comes to see me, ^(F)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[d]

⁸ They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[e] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹ Even my ^(G)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(H)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹ By this I know that ^(I)you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹² But ^(J)you have upheld me because of ^(K)my integrity,
    and ^(L)set me in your presence ^(M)forever.

^13 (N)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2041:1%20-13&version=ESV)

Have you ever done something that you knew was right but others frowned upon it?  If you have found yourself in that situation you may have begun to question why you did it in the first place.  You may begin to think that you have sinned against the Lord and that He is punishing you.  That appears to be how David felt.  Even his close friends turned away from him.  He became the gossip topic of the day. 

Even though we know that God is in control and that His word is true, when our friends turn their backs on us we can become downcast and distraught.  Why is that?  We know we are a child of the King yet we want people to like us.  We want others to see our value and our worth but God is the only One that we need to answer to. 

God gave Adam another person as a companion, He wanted us to be social.  He wanted and still wants us to love one another.  Like parents of children who fight, they just want their children to get along because they love them both.  Our Father in Heaven wants the same for us but yet people have decided to place each other in classes and if you don’t fit in the that class, you shouldn’t associate with them.  We are taught this, maybe directly and maybe indirectly from our first encounter in a social setting, namely, school. It may begin even before that when some parents teach their children to not associate with specific types of people.  Even children pick on the ones that they believe are lower class than them.  We get categorized as either being in the “in” crowd or outcast.  What do we do about it?  We stand with integrity and realize that God will not let us perish but that we will dwell in His house forever.  If we look for our reward on earth, we are being too narrow minded but when we fix our eyes on eternity, we realize we have been blessed beyond measure.  Keep your eyes focused on Him and seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila