Mark that the word here is not “the God of Abraham,” “the God of Isaac,” “the God of Jacob.” The world is—his God. For help and guidance in life, what we need is the sense and realization of God as a personal possession. If we have the sense of personally possessing God, the sense of fear is dispelled. The man who can say, “Thou art with me,” can also say, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Ps. 23:4).

The events that caused David to be so greatly distressed were enough to break the stoutest heart. The Amalekites had burned Ziklag, his home city at the time. They had taken away his family, the families of his warriors, and their cattle. Mutiny had broken out among his followers, and they were threatening to stone him. It was one of the darkest hours in David’s life.

If life is to be a pageant of triumph and not a funeral march, we must learn how to deal with reverses and disappointment. When things go badly for us, it is natural that we should be distressed. We can scarcely avoid feeling oppressed when misfortune overwhelms us. But whatever befalls us, no matter how greatly distressed we may be, it behooves us to keep up our courage. But how can we? How can one keep his heart up in the face of overwhelming disaster, in a situation that seems hopeless?

The experience of David provides the answer. At the moment, he had no earthly possessions. Everything was gone. Friends were gone. But God was not gone! He could no longer say, “My house,” “My property,” “My friends.” But he could say, “My God.” He was confident that God could protect him in the midst of danger, that He could turn tragedy into triumph. He didn’t try to dictate to God what He should do. Rather, in such circumstances of trouble, he said, “Leave it all quietly to God, my soul, my rescue comes from Him” (Ps. 62: 1, Moffatt).

Whatever we may lose, though left penniless and friendless, we have more than enough to fall back on, more than enough to sustain us, more than enough to keep us going, more than enough to win through to victory—as long we have God.