For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5
The eternal perspective tells us: The bad stuff passes, the good stuff is coming. The bad stuff is temporary, the good stuff is permanent.
Nevertheless even David had moments of discouragement. During the time when Saul was trying to kill him, we read, “But David thought to himself, ‘One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines’” (1 Samuel 27:1).
David wasn’t destroyed by Saul and he went on to become the King of Israel, but for a time David thought his best option was to hide in the land of the Philistines, who were Israel’s enemies. Discouragement can cause us to make short-sighted decisions which bring us temporary relief, but a better choice is to remain steadfast in our faith because hard times will pass.
In happier times David wrote: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Probably his circumstances weren’t any better, but his perspective was different. Now his eyes were on the Lord, and not on his adversary.
We can remain confident too. God has a plan and purpose for our lives, which isn’t thwarted by others. We may go through difficult times, which test our faith, but we can remain faithful by taking the long-term view.
In times of discouragement, remember God’s promises of favour and blessing. David expected to see God’s blessing. He had faith and God rewarded him. Like David let’s anticipate God’s future blessings and so encourage ourselves to remain faithful.
