Encouraged In The Lord

How do you encourage yourself when it seems the only news you are receiving is bad news? In 1 Samuel 30, David returned to find his city burned and his family taken, and his own men spoke of stoning him, but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. Psalm 16, an instructional psalm of David written in a time of danger and uncertainty, shows us how. David begins by reminding himself of who God is, calling on Him as Elohim, Jehovah, and Adonai, and praising Him for His personal presence, for the blessing of His people, and for the grace that kept him from idolatry. He then reviews what God has done and continues to do: the LORD is his satisfying portion, the One who maintains his lot, the giver of a goodly heritage that teaches contentment, the Counselor who gives clarity even in the night seasons, and the ever present One at his right hand. Finally, David rejoices in what God is going to do. He would not be left in the grave, and by the Spirit he foresaw that God's Holy One would not see corruption, the very passage Peter preached at Pentecost concerning the resurrection of Christ. Whatever darkness we face, the path of life ends in the presence of the Lord.