And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Sam 30:1-6 (KJV)
There were a number of low points in David’s life. It is difficult to say that one was any worse than the other but one thing is for sure, I would not want to go through the situations that David went through. He was king of all Israel but he paid a dear price before and during his reign. Our text today presents one of those situations before David became king. In fact, at the time of the event in today’s scripture, David was a fugitive from Israel leading a group of approximately 600 men and living in the land of Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. David went to live with his enemy because Saul’s death threat on his life had him convinced that he would not live long in Israel’s territory. From his position in the land of the Philistines, David conducted secret raids against Israel’s enemies while covering it up by reporting it as raids against Israel. This assured the king of Gath that David would be hated by his own people and would therefore be a loyal servant to him. David’s cover-up involved killing all of the inhabitants of the places he raided so that there would be no eyewitnesses of his deeds. It was during one of these raids that David’s enemy raided his new home city and took all of the women and children captive. When David and his men returned home and discovered their misfortune, they cried until they could cry no more. After this, David’s men turned against him and talked of stoning him. With his family taken captive and his followers rebelling against him, all David had left was his relationship with God.
I. No One wants to be a Stranger
A. He was Living among His Enemy
B. His Family was Taken from Him
C. His Friends were Turned against Him
II. When You have Cried Your last Tears
A. What’s Next when You are done Feeling sorry for Yourself?
B. You need to take a serious Look at Your Situation
C. Something has to Change
III. Be Encouraged in the Lord
A. Don’t Throw in the Towel
B. God never Leaves You
C. God always Loves You
David did not stay in the self-pity mode. He was determined to change his situation. He was determined but he was not desperate. Desperate people too often make critical mistakes because they think that any change would be better than their current situation. Be careful because things can get worse no matter how bad they may seem. David turned to the one constant in his life, i.e., God. Rather than do something and hope for the best, David turned to God and asked him for directions. Note that he did not ask God, What should I do? Instead, he asked God to evaluate his plan of action before he acted. He asked God if he should pursue his enemy. Then he asked God, Will I overtake my enemy? So now David wanted to know if his plan would be successful. How comforting it is to have the assurance of God that you have a good plan and that your plan will succeed. Why do we wait until there is no one else but God? When God is able to provide guidance and assurance, why not pursue God first? Yes, God knows our hearts but he also wants to direct our steps. God intends for us to have good success. We should go to our knees without being driven there. We should constantly seek God’s face rather than his hand. We should give God our hearts rather than wait just to give him our problems. God has already provided the way for us. God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet in our sins, Christ died for us. Jesus died so that God could be our first choice rather than our last resort. Jesus lives so that we can have someone interceding for us. When there is no one but God, be encouraged.
Robert C. Hudson
November 8, 2009
Living in Faith
1 month ago