DAVID WAS AT THE END OF his rope. He had been an outcast and was sought doggedly by Saul to be killed, for nothing he had done. At this point in time, he was forced into unknown territory had been living among Israel’s enemies, fighting for the Philistines, and now they even rejected him. He returns to a city to find it burned down and his wives taken captive. He had a rogue group of men who surrounded him and now wanted to kill him because of their own misfortunes of being associated with him. Imagine the bleakest and darkest time ever. “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.” I Samuel 30:6
What did David do? David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. I think it’s not a mistake that the Bible records “his God”. While David recognized that God was the God of Israel, the One true and living God; David also recognized that He was HIS God. Think of it this way, while the sun and moon belong to the whole world, they shine on ME without taking away from anyone else.
David had a choice in the matter- he could look at his circumstances and be overcome by what he saw, or he could look to his God. David didn’t cry out, “Oh no! I am doomed! All is lost!” No. He strengthened himself in the Lord his God and inquired of the Him, “What shall I do?” It is pertinent to know that it was three days later that Saul died and news reached David that he was to be king. David had long rested on this great promise of God. This Word and promise had been etched on David’s heart and many times over he remembered these words, “you shall be king”.
History records it was somewhere around 15 years from the time he was anointed by Samuel to the promise of kingship being fulfilled. That’s a long time to wait and for discouragement to set in. What can we get from all this? Jesus is Lord of the church and we are His bride and His body; but He is my God. Do you know Him? Do you recognize the God who answers prayers and counts the number of stars and calls them by name? He knows the numbers of your hairs. He formed you while you were in your mother’s womb. As David so eloquently wrote, “The Lord is my light and salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life! Of whom shall I be afraid? When my father and mother forsake me, He will take me up.” Do you call upon Him, or do you phone a friend?
Dark days and seasons reveal whom or what we rely on. The sun shines on all, but do you utilize it’s benefits? Some run and hide from its radiance. I prefer to bask in it’s shine and fill my body with its benefits. “Bless the LORD O my soul and forget not all His benefits”. Many love what the church provides: her fellowship, her service, her generosity, singing in her choir and serving her children; but times of bleakness reveal our true heart’s reliance. Some are merely spiritual fornicators.
David strengthened himself in the Lord- not in the lying prophets of Baal, not in the media, not in government or healthcare, not in family or friends, not in himself; but in the Lord. Who knows if your delivering breakthrough is just three days away? Will you give up believing in God before the time of the promise? Many do not see things come to pass because they quit. The obedient of the Lord do not quit. They don’t grow weary. They stoke the embers of their faith. They encourage themselves in the Lord and so in turn encourage others. As the mob that turned on David wanted to stone him, they were watching him to see what he would do. David strengthened himself in the Lord. Others are watching your faith.
Does your life and actions reveal a God who is able to heal, deliver, restore, and redeem? Does your life reveal you trust in a God who is faithful? Or are you making Him appear unable and of little power? You have a choice: look to your circumstances or look to the Lord. You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice. Look elsewhere and you can end up in destruction. Choose wisely. ““So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”Matthew 6:28-34 NKJV#runyourrace
To Learn More About Pastor Crystal please visit the Leadership Page
