Strength from the LORD

(Sorry for the lack of posts. I started a new job at my church a week and a half ago doing outreach to the public high schools in the area and have been super busy. Although its busy and tiring, God is doing amazing things, I already have some awesome stories to share of how God is opening door after door to share the gospel and show the love of Christ with those who haven't heard it. I look forward to sharing some of these down the road!)

Today, God really spoke to me through 1 Samuel 30:4-6.

Leading up to these three verses, David comes home from battle to find his hometown burned to the ground. He finds his two wives to be taken captive as well as the rest of the women and children.

Verse 4 says, "Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep." David's response was that of a typical human being. He lost the two people he loved the most as well as hundreds of others, so he wept. But he not only wept, he wept so hard that he finally didn't have any strength whatsoever to weep anymore.

Then we get down to verse 5 and part of verse 6 where it says, "David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jesreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters." Not only was David distressed because both of his wives were gone, but because his very men were talking about stoning him to death because they were bitter about losing their own families. How often can we relate to the response of these men? When something isn't going our way, we are tempted to take our anger out on someone or something instead of trusting the Lord.

David's response to all of this at the end of verse 6 is what stood out to me the most. It's the example we need to seek to follow as children of God. "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."
David didn't run to one of his friends for help. David didn't try to run away from the people trying to stone him. He ran straight to the only thing that could really help him: The Lord. Let us follow this example, in the good times and the bad. Let us continually be looking to the Lord and his Word for our strength.