In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. (Ps. 22:4)
A friend and I were trying to find a place of business. We arrived at the exact location entered on the GPS, only to hear, “Take a U-turn.” We obeyed, and almost immediately heard Ms. GPS again, “Take a U-turn.”
David was doing a bit of whining at the beginning of Psalm 22. “Can’t you hear me, God? Nobody likes me.” But then he quickly remembered the stories of the past: “You helped my father and grandfather. You heard their cries for help. You were with them!” With a U-turn in David’s heart he realized that the God who had helped his ancestors was the same God to whom he was crying out. It was the victories of his grandfather, Obed, and his own father, Jesse, he remembered. And in the remembering, realized he could trust God—the same God who proved faithful to those who came before him would be faithful to him, too.
My friend and I never did find the place of business. After several more U-turns, we discovered the building had been torn down, and the business had relocated. There are times in our lives when we must make a U-turn so God can show us others’ past victories to reassure us he will not forget us. The same hard-fought victories of our ancestors are available to us today.
Gain strength by talking to others about their spiritual victories.
Pamela Kuhn’s favorite word is joy, and her favorite place is anywhere that holds books and sells tea.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
