Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

      Sometimes it seems that helping just does not work. We put ourselves out there for the good of the people and the blessing of the needy because God has asked us to do it and we get the love that was intended for the unloved thrown back in our face. 
      Have you ever come to the end of what was once a good idea of God’s love extended, only to find out that it had turned into a rubbish heap? The entire work just came crashing down with no natural way of rescuing it. We stand there perplexed, wounded and scared wondering if we had ever heard from God in the first place. 
      Most certainly during those times our pride is festering and wanting some kind of salve to take away the pain of loss and failure. The word tells us not to get discouraged because the battle is won in the heavens and over a period of time. Gal. 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 
      The key words in this verse is “If we faint not.” The martyrs throughout history did not see the result of their hard work and their life-giving sacrifices, but they continued in the pursuit of what God had called them to do so that we could have the freedom to own and digest the written word of God.
      Sometimes it seems that we can’t win and our efforts are just going to waste. David found himself in this predicament. He had been helping defend the land of King Achish and suddenly his efforts were disregarded by politics. 1 Sam. 29:3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? At this point, David and his men return home only to find out that their own families have been taken into slavery. 1 Sam. 30:3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 
      I don’t know about you but these events would have amounted to a very bad day for me and I would start wondering if I had heard from God concerning the call in my life. Of course the people want retribution and it is normally the leader that will get the blunt end of the anger. 1 Sam. 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 
      David asks the Lord whether he is to go after his family and the families of his men and God says “Go!” 1 Sam. 30:8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. The word that David got from God is fulfilled and he gets all his family and goods back plus the goods of the invaders. 1 Sam. 30:17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
      Did David go through a hard time and did it seem all was lost? Yes, just like the times we have suffered and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The Lord admonishes us to stay the course in faith, through Christ, and the result is that wisdom and understanding will come from the reverence we have for the God we serve. 
      We do not always get the answers to why certain things happen but if our hearts and eyes are on the Lord Jesus, we will get through all the situations that life throws at us. Prov. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
      In most cases we will get hurt leaving our heart out there where people will sometimes trample all over it. We can be overlooked and never thanked for what we sacrifice in the name of our Lord, but God remembers every little thing we do in His name. Matt. 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
      Our example is Christ the Lord. When Jesus hung on the cross for the sins of the entire world it seemed that the devil had won by provoking a deicide. To the apostles and the followers of Jesus, it looked like the salvation project Jesus had started was over and all was lost. However, God had a victorious plan that resurrected Jesus from the grave and destroyed the works of the devil while enforcing the salvation plan for all mankind. 
      What a turn around that was and still is. We have this same resurrection power within our hearts and souls and nothing is going to stop the plan of God in our lives if we keep going even when helping hurts. Rom. 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Kenneth Copeland said, “Faithfulness grows out of saying yes to God.” May saying yes to our God be on our lips when He calls. Blessings to us all.