Session 5

Feel like you’re fighting a losing battle?

From Finding Freedom from Sin and Shame: A 7-Day Devotional

Ever feel like nothing is going your way? Maybe mistakes caught up with you, or maybe you've found yourself in difficult circumstances through no fault of your own. Sickness, job loss, and betrayal come unexpectedly and threaten to overwhelm us. 

David, who wrote Psalm 25, knew how it felt to be overwhelmed. He desperately wanted to honor God, even in hard times. But the battle to do the right thing and the battle against enemies who wanted to end his kingship were wearing David out. He was desperate and scared. 

David pleads with God, “Let me not be put to shame” (Psalm 25:2). In other words, “don’t let me fail!” The whole of this psalm is David reminding himself that God won’t fail him, ever. “None who wait for you shall be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3).

When you think you’ve hit rock bottom, remember: The rock at the bottom of rock bottom is Jesus. Through Jesus, we have access to the Father through the Holy Spirit. And because Jesus defeated sin and death, we know that the hardships we face, while painful at the moment, will not last forever. 

Like David, we can look to God to guide us when we’re overwhelmed at every turn (Psalm 25:4-5). We can trust God to continue loving us when we don’t get everything right (Psalm 25:7). And we can expect God to lovingly correct us and help us — just like a good dad would (Psalm 25:8-9). 

Psalm 25:12-13 says those who see God as He is “will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land.” If you are wrestling with difficult circumstances, pray that promise back to God and rest in it — just like David did.

Reflect: 

• What is overwhelming you today?
• What's one way the difficulty you’re facing could show you something new about God?