I was just reading Terry Virgo's blog post from this past Friday and was very encouraged by it. Here is an excerpt:
David lamented, ‘One day I’ll die at the hands of Saul.’ Clearly, the temptation to despair was very real for him. He was away from Israel, his homeland, and he thought, ‘I’ll be killed. It’s inevitable.’ He nearly gave up. But then he voiced that beautiful Psalm: ‘I would have fainted if I had not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’
Many good people have nearly despaired and have cried out in desperation to God. Elijah prayed, ‘Take my life from me.’ Others, like Moses and Jeremiah, almost reached the place of suicide. Perhaps you’ve been overwhelmed by similar dark thoughts and have cried out, ‘Oh, God, I can’t bear this!’ But somehow God has given you the strength to go on.
Sometimes the pruning is hard. Maybe your fiancé broke off your engagement or you’ve lost your job. Perhaps a loved one died suddenly. Maybe you had a disabling accident or discovered a close friend has cancer. In situations like these, we are tempted to despair. David nearly did. ‘Why have you rejected me?’ he asked God. ‘Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’ But he refused the temptation to give in to hopelessness. ‘Put your hope in God,’ he urged his soul, ‘for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.’
If you'd like to read more of Terry's blog, click here.
