“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
When I am in need of strengthening myself in the Lord, especially in highly emotional, tough situations here are a few of the practical steps I have taken that have helped me align myself with God.
- Focus on God: The first thing I do is turn my attention away from myself—how I feel, what I did, what I’m going through, etc. or away from others—what they did, how they made me feel. The quickest way to stay down is to focus on low things; but if you turn the eyes of your heart to Him, then you begin focusing on high things.
- Hold on to what you know about God: You may be asking, “I understand how to focus my physical eyes on something, but the spiritual can feel so abstract. I don’t know how to focus my eyes, thoughts, attentions on God who is like a wisp of the wind. What do I focus on when I’m trying to fix my attention on Him? Center your mind on a truth or attribute that you have learned about God. Can’t think of one in the moment? Go straight to your Bible and find one. In times of stress or trouble, here’s a go-to passage for me: Psalm 46 (go read it; I’ll wait!)
From this Psalm alone I find that He is a refuge (shelter), strength, a help, present, powerful, conqueror, and that God is fully confident in who He is. If I am weak and vulnerable this is who I want to be hidden by! I also love in the middle of this Psalm that someone is declaring these things about God, but in verse 10 the perspective changes and God pops in for one verse to command us to “Be still, and know that I am God!” Isn’t that what we hope for when we’re in the middle of a difficult situation that God would stop by to share some wisdom and insight? - Use the lifeline of who God is to draw you to Him: Clinging to what you know about God can be like taking hold of a life preserver held by a length of rope attached to a big ship in the middle of the roaring ocean. Once you have it, you can begin to pull yourself back to God (or He can drag you in!). I begin to see remember and see how capable and great God is, and how incapable I am without Him. As I am using the wonder of His love and power to draw me to Him, my response usually leads me to humility: “God, You are strong/mighty/wise/loving/merciful and without you I am not”; after humility, on to repentance: “Remembering this, what should I do, where should I go, what I do I need to change to fix this situation?”
God exalts the humble, and for those who seek God and His righteousness, He will give revelation and insight to know how to proceed. He will show us the way to get out of our messes, and to do it in His strength instead of our own. I hope this helps you to cling to God and strengthen yourself if you should find yourself in need of His help.