"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." 1 Samuel 30:6 (KJV)
In 1 Samuel 30 we read the story of David and his men returning to their homes and finding the city burned and all of their families taken away as captives. 1 Samuel 30:4 tells us that all of the people, including David, "... wept until they had no more power to weep". This was obviously a very difficult situation and things then went from bad to worse when all of the people somehow decided David was to blame and they wanted to kill him. The good news is that David did not die that day but he went on to become the king of Israel.
The important thing to notice here is what David did in this difficult situation. Yes David faced some bad circumstances and his first reaction of crying would be the normal thing to do; but David did not just cry, he dried his tears and encouraged himself in God! David turned from his emotions and simply focusing on the problem to focusing on God and looking to God for the answer to the problem. Although it is not specifically stated here, I believe that David did exactly what he did in many of the Psalms he wrote; he started talking about how big God is and how God has the answer to any problem that comes along.
How about us? What will we do when we face a problem or a difficult circumstance? Will we just cry and look at the problem wondering what we are going to do? Or will we follow David's example and start talking about God working in our life, God being on our side, God leading us into victory, and God having an answer bigger than the problem? When we do those things we are encouraging ourselves in the Lord and tapping into the strength that God is always ready to give us in every situation. Next time you face a problem don't just look at the problem, see what God's Word has to say about the problem and then start talking about that. You will find yourself growing stronger rather than weaker and you will put yourself into the place where God can speak to you, just like He did to David, and God will show you the way to victory!
In 1 Samuel 30 we read the story of David and his men returning to their homes and finding the city burned and all of their families taken away as captives. 1 Samuel 30:4 tells us that all of the people, including David, "... wept until they had no more power to weep". This was obviously a very difficult situation and things then went from bad to worse when all of the people somehow decided David was to blame and they wanted to kill him. The good news is that David did not die that day but he went on to become the king of Israel.
The important thing to notice here is what David did in this difficult situation. Yes David faced some bad circumstances and his first reaction of crying would be the normal thing to do; but David did not just cry, he dried his tears and encouraged himself in God! David turned from his emotions and simply focusing on the problem to focusing on God and looking to God for the answer to the problem. Although it is not specifically stated here, I believe that David did exactly what he did in many of the Psalms he wrote; he started talking about how big God is and how God has the answer to any problem that comes along.
How about us? What will we do when we face a problem or a difficult circumstance? Will we just cry and look at the problem wondering what we are going to do? Or will we follow David's example and start talking about God working in our life, God being on our side, God leading us into victory, and God having an answer bigger than the problem? When we do those things we are encouraging ourselves in the Lord and tapping into the strength that God is always ready to give us in every situation. Next time you face a problem don't just look at the problem, see what God's Word has to say about the problem and then start talking about that. You will find yourself growing stronger rather than weaker and you will put yourself into the place where God can speak to you, just like He did to David, and God will show you the way to victory!