Encourage Yourself In The Lord
Saturday, October 08, 2011
In I Samuel chapter thirty, we find David in somewhat of a predicament. He had left the Philistines and come to Ziklag, only to find that the Amalekites had attacked and destroyed the city and had taken all of the women and children captive. At this point, his men were very distraught and they wanted to stone David. They felt like he should not have left Ziklag unprotected and they blamed him. In reality, it was Saul's fault. If Saul had obeyed the Lord and destroyed the Amalekites, they would not have attacked Ziklag. But they blamed David. They were upset and often, when we are in trouble, we will fly into a rage of anger against those closest to us.
If we were in David's shoes, we probably would be greatly discouraged at this point. David had been expelled from his homeland by Saul. Saul had pursued after him and tried to kill him on numerous occasions. The Philistines, whom he had lived with for three years, now drove him out of their camp. The Amalekites had destroyed the city and taken his wives, and now his own friends, whom he trusted and provided bread, shelter, and protection for, instead of sympathizing with him, turned against him and wanted to stone him.
This was a great trial for David. "Things are often at the worst with the church, and people of God just before they begin to mend."~Matthew Henry It is said that "Great faith must expect such severe exercises." We read in this account, "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." This helped David to be calm and to totally put the situation in God's hands. He KNEW no harm would come to him because God had already promised him that he would be the king. In times of trouble and trials, we too need to remember the promises of God to us. He may have thought of these words that he penned: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." (Psalm 56:3)
How do we encourage ourselves in the Lord? The answer can be found in some other words that David wrote in Psalm thirty-seven.
Trust in the LORD. Remember that He will do what is best for you because He loves you. Remember His promises and cling to them because God cannot lie. Delight thyself in theLORD. Read God's Word and meditate on it. Sing songs of praise to the Lord. Count your blessings and learn to be thankful for all He has done for you. No matter what situation we are in, I believe you can always find something to be thankful for. Commit thy way unto the LORD. Make up your mind today to live for Christ no matter the cost. Jesus Christ is our example. In Isaiah, Jesus says, "For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." We need to set our faces like a flint and just go on for God. Rest in the LORD. We need to learn patience. James says, "The trying of our faith worketh patience." Romans says, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." David was quoted in the book of Acts. "For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I shall not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad: moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope." We can rest with peace in our hearts, knowing that God has a plan and that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Anger can destroy homes, churches, communities, and nations. There are some things that should make us angry, such as 1.2 million abortions performed in our country each year, the homosexual agenda, the pornography industry, when our government strips us of our constitutional rights, when folks think they know more than God so they change the words in His precious book, etc. etc. The Bible says, "Be angry and sin not." So there are things that should make us angry, but for the most part, anger is not good. We get angry when we are frustrated and overwhelmed. Then we snap at our children, we criticize our husband, we gossip about the members of our church, and we become bitter and miserable people. We need to learn to give our frustrations and hurts over to the Lord. We may not be able to "fix" our situation, but we can trust God. He may not fix it either. We can just trust that He knows best and encourage ourselves in the Lord.
I am thinking of a song that goes like this:
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way Have a blessed day!