Strengthen Yourself in the Lord
The Lord is here to strengthen us in our times of weakness.
Life can be quite unpredictable. Life can throw you a curveball that you never expected. You lose your job. A relationship that you thought would last forever is broken. You come face to face with a health issue. A financial crisis occurs. You lose a loved one. There's no telling what the future will hold. Only God knows. Where can we find strength to go through these unpredictable crises in life?
King David, the beloved character in the Bible, faced a huge crisis before he became king of Israel. One day, while he and his men of war were away on a mission, an enemy raid had taken place in his home base. The marauders had captured all the women, children, livestock, and their possessions. They also burned the town to the ground. Imagine what David and his men must have felt when they returned to their home base to find it destroyed and their loved ones captured. It must have been a tragic and devastating moment. In fact, the men were so broken and devastated that they even considered stoning David to death. David must have felt horrible. Not only did he lose his own family, he also lost the families of each of his men whom he loved.
How could David ever recover from such a tragic situation? He needed supernatural strength to go through the crisis and to find a way to overcome it. As was David's custom, he turned to God for help. Where else could he go? The Bible gives us this remark about David's response to the crisis he faced: "But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God" (1 Sam. 30:6 ESV). There was nobody else to turn to in the midst of this tragic circumstance but to the LORD his God. And as David did this, he found supernatural strength in the midst of his hurt and sorrow.
With renewed strength from the Lord, David prepared a plan to rescue all the people and possessions that were captured by the enemy. With help, guidance, and power from the Lord, he and his men were successful in rescuing all the families and possessions. It's a great ending to such a tragic situation they faced. You can read the whole story in 1 Samuel 30.
Who will you turn to in the midst of a crisis? The Lord is here to strengthen us in our times of weakness. The Lord will also show us the way to get through it and equip us with His supernatural power. Just like David, may we find strength in God in the midst of our challenges in life as we come before Him in prayer every day.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
