Devotional: I Believe I Will See the LORD’s Goodness

by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 12, 2026

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Faith Under Pressure — Part 23

Psalm 27:13

“Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the LORD’s favor in the land of the living?”

Context & Connection

In Part 22, David asked one of the most honest questions in Psalm 27: “Where would I be if I did not believe…” That was the voice of a man who knew how close he came to losing heart. He had faced enemies, fear, danger, abandonment, and false witnesses. He had cried out for mercy and asked the Lord to teach him, lead him, and protect him.

But David did not lose heart because he believed something about the Lord. Now in Part 23, we focus on what he believed: “I would experience the LORD’s favor in the land of the living.”

David believed he would see the Lord’s goodness. This is faith under pressure. The pressure may be real, but the goodness of the Lord is still real.

I Would Experience the LORD’s Favor

David believed he would experience the Lord’s favor—His goodness, kindness, grace, care, and faithful dealing with His own. He did not believe the pressure would have the final word. He believed the Lord was still good.

Pressure can make the heart question God’s goodness. When the battle is long, the heart may wonder: Is the Lord still good? Does He still see? Does He still care? Will I ever see His goodness again?

David answers by faith: “I would experience the LORD’s favor…” This is not shallow optimism. This is confidence in the character of God.

The LORD’s Goodness Is Not Cancelled by Pressure

This is the key truth of Part 23: Present pressure does not cancel the goodness of God.

Pressure may cloud the mind, exhaust the heart, and make the path feel dark. But pressure does not change who the Lord is.

The Lord is still good.

The Lord is still faithful.

The Lord is still merciful.

The Lord is still near.

The Lord is still able to sustain His own.

David’s circumstances were heavy, but they did not cancel the Lord’s goodness. The same is true for the believer today.

In the Land of the Living

David believed he would experience the Lord’s favor “in the land of the living.” He was not only thinking about some distant reality beyond this life. He believed the Lord’s goodness would be seen in his present life.

He believed the Lord was still working and still able to show favor. He believed the Lord’s goodness could still break into the pressure of his present circumstances. This does not mean he knew exactly how or when the Lord would answer, or that the pressure disappeared immediately. But David believed the Lord’s goodness was not merely theoretical—he believed he would experience it.

Faith Expects the LORD’s Goodness

Faith does not demand that God follow our timeline or answer exactly how we imagined. Faith does not pretend to know every detail of what the Lord will do. But faith does expect the Lord to be faithful to His own character.

David believed he would experience the Lord’s favor because he knew the Lord. He had known the Lord as light, salvation, protector, shelter, and the One who gives firm footing. So even under pressure, David believed the Lord’s goodness would be seen.

Pressure Wants You to Forget the LORD’s Goodness

Pressure is loud. Fear, grief, uncertainty, opposition, and weariness are loud. When pressure becomes constant, it can dominate the heart’s attention. The believer may start seeing only the burden, the loss, the difficulty, and the unanswered questions.

But faith remembers what pressure wants us to forget: The Lord is good. David’s confidence is not based on pretending the pressure is light. It is based on believing the Lord is good while the pressure remains.

David Believed Before He Saw Everything

David believed before every answer was visible, before every enemy was gone, before every burden was lifted, and before every question was resolved. That is faith.

Faith rests in the Lord before the full outcome can be seen. Faith says: I do not see everything yet, but the Lord is good. I do not understand everything yet, but the Lord is faithful. I may still be under pressure, but the Lord’s goodness remains.

The Goodness of the LORD in Present Affliction

Some believers feel guilty for wanting to see the Lord’s goodness in this life. But David’s words show that this is not wrong. He believed he would experience the Lord’s favor “in the land of the living.”

Believers have eternal hope, and that hope is glorious. But God also strengthens, sustains, comforts, provides for, and shows mercy to His people now. He gives grace (2 Corinthians 12:9) in the trial, strength in weakness, peace in pressure, wisdom in confusion, endurance in waiting, and comfort in grief. The Lord’s goodness is not absent from the present life.

‘And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.‘

II Corinthians 12:9

Seeing the LORD’s Goodness Does Not Always Mean the Trial Ends Immediately

Sometimes the Lord’s goodness is seen through deliverance. Sometimes it is seen through sustaining grace, wisdom given at the right moment, peace that guards the heart, strength to endure another day, or the quiet assurance that He has not abandoned us.

The Lord’s goodness is not limited to one form. He knows how to show favor to His own.

The Believer’s Confidence in Christ

For believers today, the goodness of God is most clearly seen in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has already shown His grace toward us in Christ—He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Those who trust Him are saved by grace and sustained day to day by His grace.

That means the believer never has to wonder whether God is gracious. The cross has already answered that. The empty tomb has already answered that. So when pressure comes, we do not interpret God’s goodness only by the difficulty of the moment. We interpret the moment in light of God’s revealed grace in Christ. The Lord has been good. The Lord is good. The Lord will be good.

What This Means

Psalm 27:13 teaches us that David believed he would experience the Lord’s favor in the land of the living. That belief kept him from losing heart. Present pressure did not cancel the goodness of God.

The same truth steadies believers today.

The pressure may be heavy.

The waiting may be long.

The path may be unclear.

But the Lord is still good. Faith under pressure believes the Lord’s goodness before every answer is visible.

A Word of Encouragement

You may be under heavy pressure today. You may feel weary from waiting or worn down by circumstances that have lasted longer than expected. But do not let the pressure convince you that the Lord’s goodness is gone.

David believed he would experience the Lord’s favor in the land of the living. You can trust the Lord’s goodness too. You may not see every answer today or understand every detail. But the Lord has not changed. His goodness is not cancelled by your circumstances. His faithfulness is not weakened by your weariness. His grace is not exhausted by your need.

Keep believing. The Lord is still good.

For Further Study

Read Psalm 27:13 slowly. Notice what David believed: He would experience the Lord’s favor. Ask yourself: Am I letting present pressure define God’s goodness, or am I letting God’s goodness strengthen me under present pressure?