A little girl was being punished for bad behavior, and her parents were making her eat dinner by herself in the corner of the room. They paid no attention to her until they heard her pray part of Psalm 23: “I thank You, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

A cute story, but our families can sometimes feel like our enemies when they aren’t exactly what we want them to be. Even our spiritual family at church lets us down occasionally. But by changing our focus we can learn to give up the naïve idea that others will always meet our lofty expectations.

Instead of focusing on others, we can find hope in the truth that we are one of God’s very own children through faith in Jesus (1 Peter 2:10). He has chosen us and “made us His own special people” (v.9). The Lord has brought us into His family, and we can be sure that our relationship with Him will never be severed. He’ll never treat us as an enemy.

When others let us down, instead of giving in to discouragement let’s change our focus and remind ourselves that we who have put our faith in Jesus are God’s children—cherished and cared for by Him.  — Anne Cetas