Read 1 Samuel 30:1-6
Innocent or guilty, our fault or not, others will turn on us in their frustration, anger and despair. When they do, more important than their reason is our response. We have several options: freak out, fight back, flee, or find someone else to blame/attack. David didn’t do any of the things he could do, but he did do what he should do. “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6b) He chose to respond with faith.
The word translated “strengthened” is the same word translated “encouraged” back in 1 Samuel 23:16. Chazaq means to be or make strong. It is an all-encompassing strength – physical, emotional, mental and most of all spiritual, especially when “in the Lord” denotes the source of the strength or encouragement. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 we are urged to “encourage one another and build up one another.” All that is involved in encouraging others is the same things that goes into our or “David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” What we say to others is the same things we need to say to ourselves.
Point UP é God is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Even if we are faithless and our choices got us (and maybe others) into this mess, He remains faithful to who He is. (2 Timothy 2:13) “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” He stopped and reminded himself who his God was to him. We need to do the same. Read: Psalms 104:1.
Point IN ê God is personally involved in our lives. The Lord was his God. We need to remind ourselves, and others, that we belong to God. Read: Exodus 15:2. He is our Everlasting Father (‘Ad ‘Ab) – in all ways always the perfect father who provides, protects and prioritizes His children. It is personal. We are tucked safe and secure in the heart of God. No one nor thing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35, 37-39), nor snatch us from His grasp (John 10:28,29). It is important that we remind ourselves just who we are and all we have in Christ. We need to respond wholeheartedly to those truths. Read Psalm 18:1,2,28.
Point OUT ì Look at the lives of others. Sometimes it is easier to see the fingerprints of God on other’s lives then it is in our own situation. What He does there He is doing here! We also need to look to those who demonstrated faith and spoke truth into our lives. Often the voice of the Holy Spirit sounds a great deal like them. Asking ourselves “What would ____ say?” is a valid way to encourage us in the Lord, just as they would willingly do if they were there.
Point BACK ç What has God done in your life in the past? Where has He brought you from or through? Read Psalm 94:22 and Isaiah 25:1
Point FORWARD è John 5:17 assures us that God has not and will not stop working in our lives. According to Philippians 1:6, He is faithful to complete the work in and through us He started. Read: 2 Corinthians 1:20. We have to decide where we will focus and the direction we will go “from there.” Read: Deuteronomy 4:29.
We are not told specifically what David told himself in order to “strengthen/encourage himself in the Lord his God.” It was personal, pertinent and powerful! It empowered him not to freak out, fight back, or flee, but to stand firm and go forward in faith. We can too!
Making It Personal
Encouraging/strengthening ourselves in the Lord requires being intentional and making some very self-specific choices. The following verses, as translated in the New American Standard version Bible, declare some “as for me” choices that should be made. After reading each verse note in your own words what choice needs to be made. If fitting your present situation, prayerfully make that choice.
How does making these choices encourage you in the Lord today?
