Finding Our True Desire

I look for someone to come and help me,

but no one gives me a passing thought!

No one will help me;

no one cares a bit what happens to me.

Then I pray to you, O LORD.

I say, “You are my place of refuge.

You are all I really want in life.

Hear my cry,

for I am very low.

Rescue me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me.”

Psalm 142:4-6

Difficult circumstances have a remarkable way of revealing what is most important in our lives. When David had fled into a cave because Saul wanted to take his life, nobody seemed to care about his plight or give him a passing thought. It was at this low point that David understood most clearly that God himself was whom he truly wanted and needed. Granted, taking refuge in the Lord doesn’t mean that all our problems will be solved instantaneously. But knowing that God is with us in our trying times should comfort us and give us the strength to go on.

In those situations when it seems as if the whole world is crashing down on you, can you sincerely pray, with David, “You are all I really want in life”?

• Dear Lord, you are my place of refuge. Teach me to desire you above all else . . .