How do we find Strength?

Outline

A: When Christian’s face trial and tragedy.

We can deny our hurt, disappointment and pain.. pretend to be the always olkaly dokaly Flanders type Christians with the joy joy joy down in our hearts. but that sort of self manipulation will eventually fail and we will find ourselves swamped in loss and wounded to the core.

We can rage about it, kick the dog, growl our spouse and blame anything that moves for our hurt. That is a pretty common way to go. I wouldn’t suggest it..

We can get back on the horse, face our disappointment and continue onward. This takes strength… , “ when we fall down we get back up.” And when fall is hard and the loss is great! when we feel it to our very core. So where do we find the strength to get up and to press on.. and to press on.. And how do we successfully move forward turning mishap into triumph?

David is our example in this..

David who returned with his army of 600 to find he had lost everything! and So had every soldier who had followed him. Their city had been burned, their families and children taken as slaves.. The same peoples that david had been leading his army against for the past year and taken advantage of them going to war with the philistines to take there revenge..

4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 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. 1 Sa 30:4–6.

David’s army did what many of us would do in this situation they looked for someone to blame.. and David who had led them into battle against the amelekites and away from ziklag was the obvious choice.. These men had lost everything in one afternoon.. And now their loved ones were in a situation worse then death..

Poor poor David! Just as his men has lost everything so had he!! The home they had built was burned, the wives he had loved.. taken! Just like the rest David too mourned and despaired.. They all cried till they could cry no more!

And then david did something that he we haven’t seen him do since he ran away from Israel. He was at his wits end.. but with no where else to turn he turned to God! And he remembered God’s character.

God who was faithful in the past :The God of Israel who helped him fight the lion and the bear. God who directed his stone to kill Goliath. Who protected him from Saul and even kept him safe in the land of his enemies the philistines.

And he remembered God’s promises concerning his present.. that he would never leave him or forsake him.

And God’s promises concerning david’s future. that David had been anointed and would be king over Israel.

English Standard Version Chapter 30

But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

In this way David found strength and hope to carry on. And that is how we as christian’s can find hope in the face of trial or tragedy. We too can find strength in God. His faithfulness in the past, his presence with us now and his future promises.

But it would have been just an exercise in positive foolishness if David had only look to God briefly, but not looked to him for guidance.

I think we do that some times.. We give ourselves the christian pep talk.. YEah! God is on our side.. I am going to heaven.. It will all be okay..

We love the theology of positivity .. But we embrace that theology forgetting entirely the God who Calls us to blessed lives of communion and obedience with him.

Thankfully we don’t see david to that!

Right away he called for the priest and asks God using Umin and the thurmin in the ephod if he should pursue the Amelekites.

When God tells him

English Standard Version Chapter 30

Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.

David gathers the 600 men with him and away they go!

Two hundred are exausted from weeping and traveling by the time they reach the book of Besor so they divide into two groups..

one goes ahead and one staying with the supplies.

They find an Egyptian and stop to show him compassion.

English Standard Version Chapter 30

They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

At first reading this seems like just a happy concidence.. Since this dying slave will lead them to the Amelekites..

but it we are paying attention to the text we see how amazing it is that David and his band of desperate solderies where willing to stop for this dying slave and feed him and care for him till he recovers...

If anyone could say they were too busy to do this it was them.

They had a much better excuse than any of the three characters in the story of the good Samaritan. But David.. like the Good Samaritian was willing to stop and show mercy to one that was his neighbor. a man that was literally part of the army that burned Ziklag..

If there is a moral to this point in the story it is that God’s law is God’s guidance and that by obeying him in the little things we give him room to direct us successfully through the rest.

And that is what happens here. The egyptian does tell them where the amelekites have gone too. and they follow them down to find their enemies, a great mass of them.. far more than David’s host. spread out in a mess of a party.. Drinking eating.. Not ready at all for the army that quickly falls on them.

The battle rages for the whole day and by the time they are done David and his men are ridiculously sucessful. They are able to rescue all of their loved ones that had been stolen. and they were able to completely defeat the Amelekites. And they gain all the loot from that the amelekites had taken from thier many raids.. Though their homes are burned and they are men without a country they are now very wealthy men! And david is the wealthiest!!

English Standard Version Chapter 30

19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

Not only does he get back both of his wives. but he also claims as the leader the greatest share of the loot. The herds of the Amelekites.

As they return with the spoils they argue about whether or not they should share this great wealth with the 200 who were left behind at the brook Besor. David’s response shows us again where he got his strength and what it means for the christian to live in the strength of God.

English Standard Version Chapter 30

But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.”

David attributes the success of their venture to the Lord.. He gives god the Glory for giving preserving their lives in the battle! He gives god the glory as well for the victory.. Saying essentially we didn’t earn this wealth it was given to us. So we have nothing left to do but share it with our brothers.

How often do we make the argument like those stingy men.. I earned this money.. I worked hard for my success! If we were honest we would see that we like David have been given all we have..

And upon returning to Ziklag again David shows that God’s great blessings were given and not earned. .Because David turns around and gives away vast portions of his new wealth sending gifts to a long list of communities in Judah. He also sends gifts to the levites. potentially a tithe of sorts from what he has been given.

And so if we have watched this chapter carefully we see that David had lost everything… He had no county to call his own, his home was burned, his family taken as slaves and his men were bordering on complete mutiny. And there David found his strength in God.

By the end of the chapter David has had his family Restored, His wealth Vastly Increased and he is able to with that wealth establish the connections that would open the doors for him to not only return to Israel but to eventually become King of Judah and then All of Isreal.

God turned Davids greatest trial and Tragedy into his greatest Triumph.

This is what God has done for us as well. The bible tells us that we began with no stake in the Kingdom of God. No hope for more than we could scrape and scrounge in this life.. We are bound by sin. Impoverished by our wicked and miserable hearts.And slaves to a selfish and spiritual evil that rules our hearts and our families.

But for the grace of God.. For the Son of David Who came and In perfect life and sinless underserved death defeated satan and broke that chains that damned us to rebellious misery in this life and hell in the next.

Jesus is our Rescuer. He Paid the price for our sins on the Cross, he rose from the dead and in that moment defeated death for all who call him lord. And He made the way for something truly amazing to happen.. He made the way for each and every believer to be adopted into the the wonderful family of God.

In other words we are like those who were captives in the amelkites posession. We were defeated, and destined for a life of suffering and slavery. But we were rescued as raised up. No longer slaves we are now royalty.

But when Trials and Tragedy strike at our lives and hearts. We find our strength in the same place that we found our freedom and our family.

Christian- Jesus our lord has bought us with his Blood given us life in place of death.

The New International Version (1984) The Lord Commands Joshua

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”