God has promised that those who look to him will lack no good thing and never be ashamed. But how can this be? The history of God’s people seems to be little more than one long, meandering story of lack and shame. And when we lookat the evidence of our own lives, we see more of the same. What, then, do these promises of God mean? The answer isin Jesus. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit,” the psalmist declares. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” In other words, a life with God is a life like that of Jesus. He was crushed and afflicted. Yet amid all these pains, he remained secure under the watchful eye of his Father. So it is for all people united to Jesus by faith. The Father treasures and watches over us with all the care and steadfastness he provided his beloved Son. We are just as secure as Jesus, though often crushed with him.