1 Samuel 30:3-6 Strengthened himself in the LORD his God!

 ”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. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 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 ‭30‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. So David and his men came to the city: As they came within a few miles of their city the hearts of David and his men must have brightened. As soldiers they were discouraged that they hadn’t been allowed to fight alongside the Philistines. But they knew they were coming home, and home meant family and familiar surroundings. But that bright thought quickly turned black as night.

b. And there it was, burned with fire: Even off in the distance they saw something was wrong. Smoke rose from their city, but it wasn’t the smoke of cooking fires. It was too much smoke for that, and the smoke was too black. They wondered why no one had come to greet them from afar off – where were their wives and children? Weren’t they glad to see them? But when they came to the city and saw it was a ghost town, a pile of burned rubble with no voice of the survivors, it seemed that everything was lost.

c. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep: All was lost. At this point, David had nothing more to support him. No one in Israel could help him. The Philistines didn’t want him. His family was gone; all he owned was gone. Even his friends turned against him (the people spoke of stoning him). Every support was gone, except the LORD. That is a good place to be in, not a bad place.

i. David did not weep only because everything and everyone was lost. He also wept because he knew that he was responsible for it. No wonder David was greatly distressed. He is about as low in his backslidden state as a man can be; David is like the prodigal son who now sits in the pigpen.

d. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God: It took a lot to bring David to this place, but now he is here – God is his only strength.

i. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. This was backslidden and wayward David. Why would God strengthen him? Because God is rich in mercy and grace, and because David was now completely broken, ready to be filled. Sometimes we think we have to achieve God’s blessing or strength, but David shows us another way.

ii. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He received the strength and felt it flow through himself, and was bold enough to ask for it and receive it from God. Before this, he didn’t see himself as weak but after coming home to a burned-out ghost town, David knew he was weak and needed God’s strength.

iii. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He didn’t wait for someone else to strengthen him. He didn’t say, “Well LORD, if You want to strengthen me, that’s fine. I’ll just wait here until You do it.” David knew that the LORD’s strength was there for those who wait upon Him, so he strengthened himself in the LORD his God. God’s strength was there for David all the time, but now he takes it for himself and will strengthen himself in the LORD his God.

iv. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. This was much more than having a positive attitude. This was the strength of the living God making itself real in the life and heart of a hurting man. This was strength for recognition, strength for brokenness, strength for repentance, strength for determination to win back what the enemy has stolen. This is the same strength that would raise Jesus from the dead!

e. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God: How did David strengthen himself in the LORD?

i. David could remember God’s love. At this point of total loss, David now saw the love of the LORD in the rejection of the Philistine leaders. If God had not sent him back home through the rejection of the Philistines, it would have been months and months until he returned, and the situation would have been far worse. That which stung him before became sweet to him now, and a most precious expression of the LORD’s love.

ii. David could remember God’s promise and calling. He could shake his head, clear the fog and say, “I am a man anointed by God, called by God, and promised by God to be the next king of Israel. I have a high calling and promise from God, and He hasn’t taken it away. I need to start living according to that destiny.”

iii. David could remember God’s past deliverances. He could say, “This is a terrible spot, no doubt. But remember all the times when the LORD delivered me out of bad spots before? If He did it then, He will do it now. He didn’t deliver me before to let me perish now.”

iv. David took his only encouragement from the LORD. 1 Chronicles 12:19-20 gave David a reason for encouragement – men from the tribe of Manasseh came to him at this time and stood with him when others turned on David. But that wasn’t mentioned as an encouragement to David at all. “God was beginning to cure his servant by a bitter dose of distress, and the evidence of the cure was that he did not encourage himself by his new friends, or by the hope of others coming; but he encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” (Spurgeon)

v. What David said in his heart in 1 Samuel 27:1 got him into this whole mess; now, what he said to himself to strengthen himself in the LORD helped bring him out. “Some of the best talks in the world are those which a man has with himself. He who speaks to everybody except himself is a great fool.” (Spurgeon)

(Guzik)

“Strengthened himself in the LORD his God”

This is a reoccurring theme in this scripture and commentary!

When you are down, broken, hurting, failing, alone and in distress remember the cure of this scripture! “He encouraged himself in the Lord his God!”

Remember, Jesus loves you! John 3:16

Blessings