“Unless” is the hinge that kept him from despair turning him to… hope! “Unless” is the “hinge” of faith to focus on what he “believed to see.” While we often want to “see” first in order to “believe,” God’s way is faith before sight! In this case he “believed to see … THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD… in the land of the living!” Focus on Him and in particular His Goodness recounting it, living in light of it, and looking forward by faith to more of it…and it will strengthen your faith.
David testifies to his confidence, strength in God is Good! The way the passage is written is that “If i had not known the goodness of the LORD then he would have perished….despaired”
He knew left to himself he would spiral down to despair, but stops there and turns as it were on the “hinge” of faith to find Hope…. may you and I do likewise! Thank God “despair” is NOT mandatory, but with God we have a blessed option the “Hinge” of hope and as we turn to Him and by faith train our mind to think Scripturally and in this verse it is to “believe to see,…the GOODNESS OF THE LORD in the land of the living!”
Faith looks beyond the visible to Him who is Invisible and rests in Him and what He says!
- When a thought of despair comes to mind turn the hinge of your thinking to Him and His GOODNESS by faith in His faithfulness to be trusted!
- The Psalmist was not passive where he allowed the thoughts of despair to take him down, he responded by faith and activated his Mind – HE CHOSE WHAT HE WOULD THINK ABOUT, He chose to think on truth about God and His goodness and Faithfulness and put his trust and hope in Him!
- You Have the POWER WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO THINK ON…
Remember this word of HOPE…
” You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.” {Psalm 119:68}