What do you do when your world seems to come to an end? When disasters strike? Hopefully that’s not you at the moment, but it will be good to do a little thinking ahead of time.
David had problems and setbacks galore, but the nadir of his experience came at Ziklag. That’s when his world collapsed. Again and again he had been condemned and attacked by the nation’s leader who was the “Anointed of the Lord” (King Saul), driven into the wilderness like a wild animal. He was an exile from his own nation, taking refuge among the Philistines. While doing what he thought was his duty, the Amalekites raided his village where his family was considered safe. They burned his and the homes of his men, and took captive their families to be sold as slaves.
David was overwhelmed, “greatly distressed,” as were his men. They had already been severely tried many times; could they be sure that God would bless this man, that he would someday be king of Israel? Everything now had turned against David, and his case appeared hopeless. His own decision had brought them to this ruin. So his loyal supporters had a meeting and talked even of stoning him. “David, it seems that God is against you! Everything has gone wrong! You are the cause of this ruin for us!” The story is in 1 Samuel 30:1-6. “David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice, and wept until they had no more power to weep.”
Then he did something that you and I can do: “David encouraged himself in the Lord” (vs. 6). He did this before he had any supernatural evidence that God would bless! He chose to believe that God would not forsake him, not because he was himself faithful, but because he believed in the character of God. He repeated the faith of Job; even if God should prove unfaithful and should forsake him, he would still believe in God’s faithfulness. He has asked God for bread; it appears that God has ridiculed him and given him a stone. But David will remain full of faith even if God appears to be un-faithful! A terrible trial, but we too can gain the victory “in Christ.”
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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