I love the hope contained in this part of Scripture...faced with an incredible blow, David and his warriors have just wept until they had no strength left (imagine - the mightiest army that you can think of, one that God is showing Himself mighty and that He is with them as they fight - being overcome with such intense emotion...).
Loss and brokenness abounds in a fallen world. One can move from awesome victory to an emotional blow that sends us to our knees in despair in a matter of hours; minutes; even seconds...consider:
- The families of the commuter jet just shot down this past week...
- The couple mourning their baby who lived only a couple of hours, and the only photos they have to
remember her by show a constellation of tubes and medical equipment...
- Children neglected by addicted parents...
- Teenagers running away from abuse, only to find more...
- Older people on a fixed income unable to rally in a faltering economy....
- Men and women trying to live and carve a life of blessing when their own past would have
determined a life full of curses....
- And even if our lives have been relatively good, blessed, redeemed - we have been touched with the
pain that has wracked others, and if we are walking with our Savior (who has been touched with all
the pain that humans have experienced) we share the burden with our brothers and sisters around
the world.
And when the emotional tidal wave is spent - we need help to know what to do next.
David shows us what is the only reasonable next step:
before he was king,
before he had brought the ark of the Presence of God to the city of Zion,
before the nation of Israel knew he was a hero...
while he was an outcast,
while he was living in the "in between" place,
while he was an outcast,
while he was living in the "in between" place,
but while he was developing the character that resulted in God declaring
he was "a man after My own heart" -
he was "a man after My own heart" -
he strengthens himself in the Lord.
The word "strengthen" here means "to become strong". It isn't that the person was already strong, and flexed those great muscles. We know David was in a place of great weakness...and he became strong again because he did something that no one else in camp was doing...he tied himself fast, bound himself strongly to Jehovah Elohim.
When he was tied in knots with emotion,
he tied himself to the Creator of the universe.
David was persistent, held fast, earnest, constant, confirmed, established, and recovered his strength as he girded himself with what he knew of God. Did this exchange take place in an instant, or over a period of hours, even a day? We do not know. But we do know that Elohim is the name of God in its plural form, so we know David focused on attributes and aspects of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit until his soul was settled, until he could rest in the provision of God that would meet his present need, until He knew God was still with him. He reminded himself of all the promises, all the power, all the plans that he knew was true from his relationship with God, and as God's strength flowed into him, he recovered his senses, finally regaining the ability to inquire and to hear Him on what his next action might be...(verses 7-8). The rest of the story shows God's intervention in bringing back his family and the families of all the men. {Truly in the ranks of a really great action-adventure + a little romance novel}.
So how does this tying to God happen in our own lives?
1. We must have a relationship with Him, and
2. Recognize that He deeply desires a relationship with us. When we believe this, we begin to view Him through a filter of His unconditional love, which can eradicate false images that might keep us at a distance from Him and His help for us.
3. It helps to know some of the general promises of God. Here are a few to get you started:
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Romans 8:1, 31-39
- Deuteronomy 31:6
- Jeremiah 31:3
- Zephaniah 3:17
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
- John 14:15-18
4. Remind yourself of personal prayers He has answered, or the answered prayers of people you
know or fellow church members (if applicable). Meditate on James 5:17.
5. Remind yourself of stories in the Bible in which God showed Himself strong for His people...
6. Sing/listen to songs of praise and worship - David was a worshipper from before the time he was anointed to be king. I believe it is safe to say that he had a habit of worship. The music you need may or may not be what is playing on contemporary Christian radio stations, but the qualitites that mark the worship that is warfare usually a) focuses on God and His character,b) is based on Scripture, and c) contains a message of hope. Gateway Worship and Hillsong are two church/music ministries that are current and always fall into this category.
7. Practice listening prayer. Don't just pour your heart out (though that may need to be the first portion of your prayer!) but quiet your soul and listen for the voice of the Spirit. Meditate on Psalm 131, it is only 3, yet powerful, verses long...write down what you hear...
8. Finally, and perhaps the most difficult, is take action on what He tells you to do...whatever it is. This will most certainly stretch and grow your faith. It will give you a testimony to share His faithfulness with others. It will assure you of His love for you as you walk with Him to address what has happened.
Have you been strengthened in the Lord before?
Are you in an experience requiring that you strengthen yourself in the Lord currently?
Leave a comment, let me know - I would love to help in praying for you...
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