Day 88 - 1 Samuel 29-31

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 88- 1 Samuel 29-31 (Hallellujah! God is So Good!)
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"So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.  Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.  And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.  Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."  (1 Samuel 30:3-6)

I know of no other man in history whose life was as rich and colorful as that of David.  Our Scriipture passage for today records some of the greatest moments in the life of David.  David, having defected to Achish, king of the Philistines, for fear of losing his life to Israel's King Saul, finds himself and his men in battle formation against Israel!  The lords of the Philistines tells Achish to send David away for fear that he would turn against them in battle and join his fellow Israelites.  David and his men return to Ziklag where they left their wives and children behind.

Upon arriving at Ziklag, David is shocked to see it burned to the ground and all their families gone.  We are told that David and his men cried until they had no more power to weep.  Then,with their minds darkened with utter grief, David's men spoke of killing him for their loss.   "But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."  

Let us pause to consider God's kindness to David and David's dependence on God.  Had Achish not sent David away, several things could have happened to David including death in battle.  One thing, however, that is unlikely to happen to David was recover his family and that of his men from the Amelekites who took them away captive.  God's intervention in that particular moment in David's life showed God's loving care and mercy for David.  

We too who trust and obey God enjoy the same loving care and protection by our heavenly Father.  There were many times in my own life when God protected me from disaster by orchestrating events and circumstances around me.  Just this past week alone, I lost a bathroom project I was working on only to be given an opportunity to be involved in my lifetime dream project of building from the ground up!  Had I not lost the small project, I would not have gotten this much bigger one!

Now, let us look at David's dependence upon God in the midst of severe trial. When David's men plotted to kill him in revenge for their families, what does David do?  Does he flee?  No, David goes to God and strengthens himself in the Lord!  What about you?  What do you do in the midst of trials?  I thank and praise God that He has brought me to a place in my life where I have made it a habit to depend on Him for everything, both great and small matters.  

Complete dependence on God does not happen overnight; you must learn to trust and obey Him one day at a time.  There will be times when you will fail to depend on Him as you begin a life of complete surrender; the key is to strengthen yourself in the Lord through prayer and repentance each time you fail or experience a trial.  May God bring you to the place where it becomes a habit for you to depend on God for everything.  That is the safest place that you and I could ever be in.