Momentum For Monday,March 27th 2023

"…But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." (1 Samuel 30:6)

David had a reason to be discouraged or distressed. He had just taken a very large blow from the enemy. I think any normal human being would be distraught if their loved ones were taken captive.               

Discouragement is a great tool of the devil. He takes very real and disheartening circumstances and tries to paralyze people in pain. Because the pain is so tangible and plausible, it can be easily rationalized for any person to collapse under the pressure. However, this is what makes David strengthening himself in God all the more incredible.              

It was not that David was undergoing a tough day or week. It was not just that David was in a mental funk that he could not shake and found solace in God. David was dealing with real, life-altering and intense trauma that would rattle anyone to their core. "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." What an amazing and inspirational feat.           

To add to this, it was not David's men that cheered him up or came to the rescue to encourage him. It was not a prophet of God that came with a word either. It was just David and the Lord, which to many people can seem very lonely.            

But how did David do it? Like many others that overcome great adversity and live to tell of it, we often want to know how they did it. Well, the understanding will be best found by looking at other Scriptures.             

Being that David was well-known for being a worshipper and writer, the book of Psalms does lend a picture of his relationship with God. Often times, when reading through Psalms, intense emotion is often noted by the writers, David included. A wide range of feelings is depicted from David's Psalms, including times of despair (Psalm 13 is a great depiction of this).              

What can be seen is that David brought a raw honesty to God in all seasons he endured, including seasons of sin. From questioning God to celebrating God's faithfulness, David expressed his thoughts and feelings with an element that left no room for vagueness to the reader, even today. This constant practice of confession and dependency on God could very well be the key to strengthening himself in the Lord.               

While he was not a perfect man, David was still regarded a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). And David did not live an easy life. From what is depicted in Scripture, he was very intense and had many hardships as well as victories. It serves today's readers well to take a cue from him on how to endure and persevere by strengthening themselves in the Lord.

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

(Psalm 18:2)