Don't Wait Until Troubles Come

The one thing I ask of the LORD -

the thing I seek most-

is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

delighting in the LORD's perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

...

Hear me as I pray, O LORD.

Be merciful and answer me!

My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."

And my heart responds, "LORD, I am coming."

Psalm 27:4-6a, 7-8

When troubles come, how do you respond? Do you pray? Do you ask for God's help? Do you read your Bible more, worship more, make more time for God? Do you beg and plead with Him? Do you cling to Him for your very life? Whether you are a believer or not, you can find yourself asking God to help especially in a life or death situation. God can also use times like these to draw people to Jesus Christ.

But how about when life is good? Do you do all of those same things as often with the same fervency?

When life is good we have a tendency to think we don't need God's help. So we drift away. We spend less and less time earnestly seeking God. We find ourselves falling into a mindset of self-reliance. We might think, "I got this, God! I can handle it. Go back to ruling the universe. No need to worry yourself over this." Our schedules fill up. Our responsibilities distract. Our devotions wane. Our prayers become intermittent. We no longer desire Him like we should.

Then troubles come. We turn the volume up on our prayers, fall on our knees, and beg for God to rescue us! We draw closer to our Father only to fall away again once our lives are back 'under control.'

God wants so much more for us than a life like this. He desires us to come into His presence daily! But sometimes we are like teenage children who would just rather die than to have a conversation with our Father. David knew that coming into God's presence every day was the only way to survive the trials that were sure to come in this life. He plainly states that by delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating is the Lord's Temple all the days of his life would "...conceal me there WHEN troubles come."

In times of troubles, David's confidence was in an unshakable God whom he intimately knew. Don't wait until troubles come to seek God. You can find Him right here, right now. He loves you and is waiting.

In His Love, Cathy