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\u201cI would have lost heart,<\/em> unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the <\/em>LORD In<\/em> the land of the living.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 Psalm 27:13\u00a0\u00a0 NKJV<\/p>\n If you have read the stories of David in the Bible, you know that his life was a series of ups and down.\u00a0 He had amazing highs such as defeating the giant Goliath, and he suffered amazing lows, such as the betrayal of his son, who took the throne of Jerusalem from David.\u00a0 And yet David always seems to bounce back and even from David\u2019s most severe setbacks or failures, he rose back up to a position of victory.\u00a0 How did David do this?<\/p>\n Part of the answer is found in a lesson David understood and lived out, that most of us have never been taught.\u00a0 David believed he would see and experience the goodness of God right here in this life.\u00a0 Most of us believe that when we depart from this life to the next, we leave behind all the troubles of this world, and certainly, that is true.\u00a0 There will be sickness, suffering or tears in the world to come as we spend eternity with Jesus.\u00a0 However, most of us live our lives expecting those results only upon leaving this life.\u00a0 We don\u2019t expect to walk in victory and live as an overcomer in this life.\u00a0 We place all our hope in the next life forgetting that there is victory for us as followers of Jesus Christ right here in this life.<\/p>\n Now that does not mean that you will not face struggles, problems, trials and even monstrously disappointing setbacks in this life.\u00a0 We still live in a fallen world and those things will come our way in this life.\u00a0 However, we don\u2019t have to dwell there or accept that is the final reality for this life.\u00a0 David understood and was convinced by faith and by experience, that he would always see the goodness of the Lord right here in this life.\u00a0 So no matter what David faced in this life, he always expected deliverance and praised God for his deliverance and goodness even before David actually experienced that deliverance and goodness in his situations.<\/p>\n David is essentially asking the question, \u201cWhat would have become of me, had I lost this confidence and not expected or believed to see the faithfulness and goodness, of the Lord in every situation?\u201d\u00a0 That is an intriguing question that we can turn to our own lives, and ask ourselves, \u201cWhat goodness, favor, and deliverance have I missed in this life because unlike David I did not expect to see the goodness of the Lord?<\/p>\n David never believed he would be overwhelmed by life even when life was overwhelming!\u00a0 Had he yielded to what you and I so easily yield to, he would have suffered setbacks, loss, and ultimate defeats.\u00a0 What about you?\u00a0 Do you feel lost in this life and defeated?\u00a0 Perhaps it is because you don\u2019t believe as David did that you will see the goodness of the Lord in your life.\u00a0 The sad thing is because of your relationship with Jesus. The goodness promised to you is even better than David\u2019s experience.\u00a0 Adopt David\u2019s outlook on life.<\/p>\n J Todd Hostetler<\/p>\n