1 Samuel 30 vs 1 - 8 (NKJV)
Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 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. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
In these verses of Scripture, we see David, a man who lost everything Not only did he lose everything, the men he led also lost everything. David was expectedly distressed, but on top of that there was talk of stoning him.
The Bible tells us he did something unusual for a person that had just lost everything and was going to be killed. He decided I am not going to go under. I am not going to be overwhelmed and give up. He decided to strengthen himself in the Lord. He encouraged himself in the Lord. There was no one to encourage him or any good circumstances to encourage him, but in himself he understood that the joy of the Lord is His strength, so He encouraged himself in the Lord. In God, he said I will rise above my present circumstances. I will see beyond the present.
You see when we encourage ourselves in the Lord, we receive strength to move forward. When we strengthen ourselves in God’s Word, in God’s presence, we generate faith in God to help us to take the next step forward.
So, what does David do after He encourages himself in the Lord? Wise man, he went to God to enquire from Him what He should do. God is faithful to all of His children and the Lord responded to David giving him instruction on what to do. David received God’s instruction to pursue the Amaklekites. He obeyed and pursued them only to recover all, absolutely everyone that had been lost.
What lesson should you and I learn from David. With God on your side, you can recover all even at times when it seems you have lost everything. God is a God of restoration. The first thing to do at those moments when it seems all is lost is to strengthen yourself in The Lord. Run into the Lord’s presence for comfort and strengthening. Second thing is to ask Him what to do. Thirdly obey whatever He tells you to do. You shall surely recover all and receive full restoration in Jesus name.
Grace to you my dear sister!