The enemy wants to blind us, distract us and discourage us from walking in our high calling as sons and daughters of the Most High. I believe the Father wants us to walk in greater levels of clarity, discernment, wisdom, and confidence in this hour.

I was recently reading in the book of Judges, and focused on chapters 6-8. These few chapters recount the incredible story of Gideon, whom the Lord raised up to deliver the children of Israel from the Midianites, who were severely oppressing them. No doubt that these three chapters would make an exceptional, most definitely R-rated, film, if one was ever produced. There are so many great themes in this short story that inspire such tenable faith in the midst of overwhelming circumstances, but it was this phrase, “the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit,” that really caught my attention.

I’ve always been drawn to the writings of Asaph. He has a panoramic view of Israel’s history, and as an intercessor, he yearns for Israel’s fullness. Like David, Asaph is both poet and prophet. Psalm 50 is one of the twelve psalms that Asaph wrote, his others are Psalm 73-83. There is profound revelation here in Psalm 50. In short, God first establishes Himself as the divine, eternal Judge, then He challenges the righteous and confronts the wicked with the complete sovereignty of His justice system and then clearly expresses what He really desires and requires from us.

King David asked a great question in one of his songs. In Psalm 11:3, he asks, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

This seven verse Psalm begins with David expressing His trust in the Lord. That’s always a good place to start. His current earthly reality, however, is one of an eroding national foundation and the identification of enemies lurking in the darkness with bad intentions. Sound familiar? Instead of looking down and all around, David looks up and sees the Lord in His holy temple and upon His throne in heaven. David knows that the Lord sees, the Lord knows, and the Lord distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked — and both have a day of reckoning coming.

My hope is that you will be encouraged today. I know these are tough times, but you were born for these days. The word of God is full of hope, perspective and wisdom. Confusing times do not require complicated solutions. There is a serenity in simplicity. May these five simple reminders from King David bless you and provoke you to continue to move forward in expectant faith, confident hope, and enduring love.

The horrors of hatred, bigotry, abuse and human suffering are beyond description. Tribal wars, ethnic cleansing, and systemic racism have cut deep wounds in the human heart and are not restricted to one region or one people group alone. The tentacles of racism and division have reached around the world in many different forms perpetuating more pain and promoting more division for generations.

Partisan politics, pandemics and protests have risen to the forefront, dominating the headlines, dismantling our fragile sense of normalcy and defacing the moral conscience of the masses for the last several months. Memes, instant messages and social media platforms are blowing up with every type of argument, human perspective, conspiracy theory and explanation of what we, as a global society, should feel, should say, or should do.

Recently, I heard a presentation from one of the pioneer winemakers in Israel. During his talk, he explained how they were able to make an exceptional bottle of wine, still regarded today to be one of the best wines in the country. Rather than talking about the grapes, he talked about the roots. As he shared about what is going on underneath the surface, I couldn’t help but make some parallels to my own life.

David is considered Israel's greatest king and Elijah, Israel's greatest prophet. Yet, both men found themselves in caves, running for their lives and fighting off incredible discouragement, depression and disillusionment in their own journey of faith. The good news is, neither of the men stayed in the cave.