"Rejoice! You have won the jackpot!" Here you are, not knowing where your next meal is coming from, totally exhausted physically and emotionally. Then the phone rings and in an instant you're up, running and screaming, laughing and crying all at the same time. Your downcast attitude has instantly turned to joy. Your fatigue? What fatigue? You remember it no more because an outside force has swept you literally off your feet and changed your whole life around.



What happened from one moment to the next? An influx of adrenalin set your feet a-tapping and your circumstances are remembered no more. "Yeah," I can almost hear you saying, "I would be happy, too, if only I won the jackpot!" If only; then! Are you one of those "if only" people? Is your joy dependent on external stimuli? Then come along with me and let's see what David did whenever he was surrounded by all his enemies.

"How excellent is they lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light." (Psalm 37:7-9) Now go on, put on some praise music and get your feet a-tapping. Sow the seed of praise and reap your harvest of blessings!

In Psalm 35:1-8 he begs the Lord to plead his cause and to stand up for him as if in battle. Then, sure that the Lord will do what he had just asked of Him, he exclaims: "my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?" Then he promises the Lord that when - not if - he is delivered from his troubles, "I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people." (v. 27) and finishes his song of praise (psalm) with: "Let them shout for joy, and be glad..; yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long."

Start praising Him in the middle of your difficulties. Then shift your focus from the trouble and the negative, whining, nagging voices in your head to the Solution. The devil will try to have you focus on the problem and magnify it out of proportion. Put all your energy onto the author and finisher of your faith. He alone has the solution! Trust Him and, like David did, thank Him for the outcome. Have the vision before you of more than what you want the outcome to be. Why? Because He is the God of more than enough. He supplies all of your needs according to His riches in glory. (Phil. 4:19) Then choose to forget your problems and call them - yes speak to them - a thing of the past, and wait expectantly for the solution which He has in store for you. Believe me, His blessings are far better than any temporary jackpot euphoria! While you are speaking your blessings and awaiting your miracle, He will shower you with His Peace.

David, probably more than any person in the Bible, really knew and loved the Lord. He had come to know the meaning of the Lord's lovingkindness; His unconditional love poured out on the cross to buy back the debt you could never pay. David walked and talked with God in total trust. In the Psalms we notice that every time he cries out to the Lord, he ends up praising Him for His goodness and mercy!