Pages of Joy // John Greco

Read Psalm 86:1–17.

Many years ago, I found myself in a very dark place—unemployed, out of money, nearly homeless, and living in a strange city where I knew only a handful of people. Each morning, I would wake up and do my best to have a positive attitude about my situation, but before noon, reality would sink in: I was stuck at the bottom of a deep valley, and there seemed to be no way of escape.

As those days wore on, many of my friends stopped calling to check on me. I can hardly blame them. Since little changed in my life from week to week, I suppose they were tired of hearing the same sad story over and over again. But there was one Friend who never left me and never turned me away. God was always there, just as He promised (Hebrews 13:5).

Though I wouldn’t want to return to that season of my life, when I look back, I remember a sweetness in those days. No matter how many tears I cried or how frustrated I became, there was one beautiful thing that no one could take away from me. Every day, I would spend hours with God in prayer—talking to Him about my struggles, pleading with Him to help me, and resting in the comfort of knowing that no matter what happened, nothing could remove me from His love.

In Psalm 86, we get a glimpse into David’s prayer life: “Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you” (vv. 2–4).

Based on the words of the psalm, the exact situation in David’s life is unclear, but his confidence in God is not. We can have the same confidence today. Our situations may change from day to day, but our God does not. Like David, we can rest in this truth: “For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” (v. 10).