June 17, 2022
Today’s reading: 1 Samuel 30:3-6
Strengthen yourself in Yahweh
We read in 1 Samuel 30:3-6:
3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
One of the biggest differences between David and Saul was in the way they respond to problems and trials.
We see here that David was at his lowest point. We can just imagine what happened. David and his men traveled from the camp of the Philistines going to Ziklag. Perhaps, they were all excited to see their family and friends. They were tired from the journey and they looked forward to getting home and having a rest.
However, when they finally reached Ziklag, all they saw was chaos, desolation, and destruction. Their houses burned down. Worst of all, their families were taken away!
As a result, even though they were men of war, they all wept so hard that they lost all their strength to weep.
To top it all up, David’s men placed all blame on him. They were planning a mutiny and stoning David to death.
All these greatly distressed David. He also lost his family, but all the people were turned against him.
Now, David did something that we all should also do. When life gets so dark, problematic, and gloomy when all things are against you and people turn their back from you, here’s what David did and we must follow:
“But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God” (verse 6).
David looked to God for strength. Although he could have just looked at his situation, what he lost, how his men were trying to kill him, and how hopeless his situation was, he did something that Saul didn’t do.
When we strengthen ourselves in Yahweh, we gain renewed courage and hope. We get a fresh perspective that it’s not over yet until God says it’s over.
We might be at our lowest point, and the problem we have might be hopeless, but when we strengthen ourselves in Yahweh, we know that God is greater than the greatest problem we can ever have.
As David strengthened himself in Yahweh, he took action. That’s what we must all do. We take the necessary steps to be out of our hopeless situation and let God lead the way.
When you are troubled and distressed, will you wallow in self-pity or will you strengthen yourself in Yahweh?
To learn more, please read, “Lessons from the Life of David: Defeating the GIANTS (Part 1).”
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