Psalm 27:13-14

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall in late October 2012. After the storm dissipated, the storm was reported to have caused $68 billion dollars in damages. I’ll never forget a news story I saw online right before the storm hit. A reporter was on-site at a New York harbor, speaking with dead-seriousness about the potential dangers of the hurricane. As he’s speaking, the cameraman captures a guy on the water jet-skiing over 10 foot waves. Thank God the cameraman followed the jet-ski because what followed will go down in journalistic history. The gentleman on the water proceeds to take out a selfie stick and films himself jet-skiing. During the 6th costliest hurricane in American history. This guy had to have lived in Florida at some time because we know the drill as far as hurricanes go. Floridians are masters at bare-bones trips to the supermarket. Just give us a tin can of crackers and two water bottles and we’re set for at least a year. Some of us, however, are quick to board up our windows when the rain doesn’t stop for twenty minutes. I truly believe this jet-skiing legend is evidence that we all respond differently to stress. 

I don’t know where you fall on the spectrum of boarded up houses and hurricane jet-skiing, but we have to constantly monitor those reactions against what we think about God. How we operate under duress, with the looming threat of danger or uncertainty, is a microcosm of how we react to stress or potentially negative situations in our lives. We’re responding, on a daily basis, to what our fears tell us. “Focus on the positive” is usually the broad strokes solution to any kind of difficulty that props up in our lives. I find it so interesting that David in Psalm 27 chooses the exact opposite route. As the chapter plays out, David fleshes out the worst-case scenario as a method to confirm in himself that whatever the circumstance, the goodness of God will prevail. Feelings of anxiety can be mitigated by this truth resounded in our lives: no matter the situation, no matter the trial, no matter the difficulty, God and His goodness will prevail.