Encourage Yourself In The LordSample

Encouraging Yourself In The Lord Provides Strength

Yesterday we looked at the unexpected tragedy David faced, and I cannot imagine what he and his men felt coming home after a three-day journey to find everything they owned and loved destroyed and taken away. Sometimes we face situations in our lives that are not half as bad as losing all our possessions and loved ones in a day, yet we feel like throwing in the towel on life and giving up. I would not have been able to, at that moment, to survive the pain and shock of what David faced. Imagine with me the scene on that day in history when David and his men arrived at their place of comfort—their home—and found a heap of rubble from what they held dear to their hearts and the thought of their wives, children, and livestock hauled off like slaves by the enemy to an unknown future. Imagine the men that gave up everything in the past to be dedicated and loyal to David, living on the run with the anointed King hoping one day they will be rewarded for their loyalty. Imagine the pain, regret, anger, and hatred they must have felt in that moment, the loud cry of about six hundred men arising from Ziklag that tragic day. All their strength was sapped from them; not one man had hope because they all lost everything that day. No one was around to encourage them, and their reaction was reasonable to look to the one they felt they sacrificed all for and blame him. At that moment David became the target of their hate and anger – they wanted to stone him to death - (1 Samuel 1:6). 

How important encouragement is when someone is in a difficult place and how tragic it is when there is no one available to encourage them. This was the case in David’s life, and in that very pertinent moment, he encouraged himself. Our disposition of heart in a hopeless situation can determine renewed strength or further disaster, and David had to check the attitude in his heart to determine the outcome, be it good or bad. When everyone stood against David at that moment, and there was absolutely no one to look to for encouragement, the Bible tells us David looked to the Lord and his decision to do so immediately brought him strength – (1 Samuel 30:6b). 

As we grow in our knowledge of the Lord, we will recognize there are times in life we will have to turn our eyes away from the tragedy and unto the Lord. It is incredible to have people around to support us, and this is the way the Bible teaches us to live, but we must also remember not to depend solely on the encouragement of others. Keep in mind, they are also dealing with daily issues like you are, but when we put our trust in the Lord even when someone is not there to build us up, we can lean on the strong arms of our Savior. If we refuse to look to the Lord and we focus on the tragedy, we will become depressed, and the enemy loves when we are down in our mind and emotions because then he can infiltrate our thoughts and feelings and cause us to act irrationally. Looking at the situation and others for help will only bring further disaster, which will only weaken us. But like David, we can lift our eyes from the tragedy to the Lord our God, and he will infuse strength to your mind, emotions, and will!

“When a man has no strength, if he leans on God, he becomes powerful.” D.L. Moody, American Evangelist