“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.”
1 Samuel 30:6
There are seasons of life where we find ourselves feeling alone (many times that’s just a feeling, not a fact!) or in the case of the recent pandemic/stay-at-home order you might literally be finding yourself alone and isolated with no one around you. How do you keep from allowing that to stress, depress and mess you up? We can take a page out of David’s book and strengthen ourselves in the Lord!
Here’s context for this lesser-known Bible story: David and his mighty men are in the midst of war being fought on a few fronts. As the men were away, their camp (where their wives, sons and daughters were) was attacked and their enemy took their families captive and burned the camp to the ground. Now when the men returned they found the destruction and pillaging of their camp and wept for what they had lost. That sadness quickly turned to anger—as is often the case during emotional turmoil—and the men wanted to cast blame on their leader David for it all and wanted to punish him for their loss. David felt alone in the midst of his own pain (his wives were also taken!) and now even his own men seemed to turn on him. He had no earthly person to turn to, and for many of us when we find ourselves in that situation, we have the temptation to dissolve in a puddle and throw in the towel (at least temporarily) and allow those feelings and emotions to overtake us to the point of paralysis. But the text says that David “strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” He turned to the Lord and allowed the Lord to become his strength, and as a result of this action David was able to push through this crisis moment to begin a plan of action that resulted in the defeat of his enemy and the restoration of all that was lost.
So, does anyone else wish we had details about the practical steps David took to “strengthen” himself in the Lord? What does it actually look like to do that? Next week, I’ll share with you the process I have found helpful when I am in need of strengthening myself in the Lord