…..but David encouraged himself in the Lord. 1 Samuel 30:6
We all have one time or another faced difficulties in our life. But we can believe as we keep our eyes on God He will see us through any bad day of our life.
In 1 Samuel chapter 30 we have the story of one man’s very bad day of his life. Not many of us have had to experience as bad a day as David did. He return home to Ziklag after a journey and discovered that his enemy the Amalekites had destroyed or stolen everything that was important to him-and even his own men turned against him.
David sat among the ruins of Ziklag he 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 for his daughters. (verse 6) He could have question God why-he could began to to question if it was something he had done for all this to have come upon him. At this moment in time David had a choice to give up or fight. But before David could fight back he would have to get his strength and courage back.
As David looked around him he saw only discouraged and downcast men. David had no one to encourage him, so he only had one option if he was to fight back: “He encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” (verse 6)
David was a worshipper. I believe he began to encourage himself by singing praises to God. Through praise and worship David’s focus began to change. I can see David sitting in the midst of the ashes of what Ziklag was at one time his home singing, “I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh come and magnify the Lord with me.”
Nehemiah 8:10 “Do not sorrow the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The devil knows that if can steal your joy he can defeat you. When we choose to sing on the bad days it will but our focus on God. That is where our strength comes from.
Steven Curtis Chapmans sings a song called “Beauty Will Rise” – Out of the ashes beauty will rise and we will dance among the ruins. We will see with our own eyes out of the ashes beauty will rise for we know joy is coming in the morning.