Thank
God that most of us do not encounter as many bad days as David did throughout
his life. Once when he returned to his home in Ziklag and discovered that his
enemies, the Amalekites, had destroyed and stolen everything that was important
to him, including his family it was just about as much as he could stand. Along
with everything else that had taken place, his own men blamed him and turned
against him for all of their misfortune as well, according to 1 Sam. 30. There
is a lot that we can learn and even imitate from David’s response when we face
difficulties ourselves. But we must first confront our trouble with the
strength and the right weapons in order to relinquish them. You see satan does
not want a confrontation with strength; he seeks to exploit weakness and
because he fights against our weakness, we must learn how to govern them along
with our emotions that are tied to our troubles in order to retain steady peace
in which God gives us and satan wants to take from us. Understanding that the
joy of the Lord is the strength of the believer, the devil seeks to steal your
joy, thereby reducing you to weakness. The believer who can retain their joy,
is destined to overcome their situation. As David sat among the ruins of Ziklag
with his angry men talking about stoning him, he had a choice. He could allow
his grief and bitterness over his loss to overtake him and let his
circumstances over shadow the Word of God that he had known in his past
circumstances or, he could use his faith in God to fight back with the
spiritual weapons that had given him aid in past times. As David looked all
around him, he saw nothing but discouragement and downcast men. David had no
one to encourage him, so he had to ,"encouraged himself in the Lord his
God" 1 Samuel 30:6. From what we know about David in the Psalms, it is
very easy to guess how David went about encouraging himself, because he sang
about it. He took his harp, retreated to a solitary place, and began to sing
songs of praise to God. No doubt David didn't feel like singing, but he did it
anyway. It wasn’t the Blues he sang either! No, instead, he sang of the majesty
and power of God. He sang of the Creator who had spoken the earth and universe
into existence. He sang of the deliverer who had already given him past victories
and showed favor to him as he conquered giants in the name of the Lord. Through
praise and worship, David changed his focus. Upon every song he sang his spirit
was lifted above his present circumstances into the presence of the One who is
high and lifted up. "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God”.
In
times of uncertainty and upheaval, God was David's constant. Why? Because God
doesn't change. No matter what the circumstance, God is above it, below it,
around it and all over it and is seated upon the throne of sovereignty and
holding the scepter of dominion. Through praise and worship, David changed his
focus and by faith he beheld “El Shaddai”, the almighty God. Even on the worst
days of his life, God was worthy of David’s praise. Just imagine David sitting
in the ashes of what was once his home with his harp in his hand, singing these
words: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear
of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name
together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my
fears" Ps. 34:1-4.Then, David sang another line: "Oh, magnify the
Lord with me." The word Magnify means "to enlarge or make bigger in
perspective”. While it is impossible to make God any bigger than He already is,
because you cannot increase the omnipotence of God, but, you can magnify your
perspective of Him. And that is exactly what David did. Perspective has
everything to do with whether you are encouraged or discouraged. A thousand
years before David's problems, a young but wise Elihu, reminded Job who was
facing his own worst day of his life at the time, that “God gives songs in the
night”, Job 35:10. When times are the darkest, God will shed His light upon
them. That is some pretty encouraging words. Paul and Silas in the New
Testament did the same thing a thousand years later. They had been arrested for
casting a spirit of divination out of a young slave girl. After a faulty trial,
they were beaten with rods and imprisoned in the innermost part of a dungeon
with their feet in stocks. They responded in a most remarkable way. At
midnight, instead of despairing and blaming God, they sang hymns of praise to Him.
Paul and Silas made the exceptional choice to encourage themselves by praising
God. They were simply following in the footsteps of David. Luke tells us that
while Paul and Silas sang, the other prisoners were listening to them. No doubt
the prisoners were amazed at such surprising behavior from a couple of dudes in
shackles. Today sweet friend, if you find yourself sinking into despair, simply
exalt God in your life by making Him bigger than your situation and you will
see that they are getting smaller by each whisper of Praise, as you sing
praises over them. 'Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength'
" Neh.8:10.
Loving on you today,
-Bren
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