The Important Skill of Self-Strengthening

In 1 Samuel 30, David hits an all-time low. He's been running from Saul, he's been rejected by the Philistines, and now he returns home to find his wives and children and his men's wives and children taken captive by the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 30:3 (ESV) And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

The response of David and his men is totally understandable. 

1 Samuel 30:4 (ESV) Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.

But what is worse for David is that his men begin to turn on him. And why wouldn't they? They have suffered only loss since coming to his aid. Consider that these men were the ones already beaten down by the forces of Saul's kingdom. They came to David for relief and all they experienced was rejection. Remember?
1 Samuel 22:2 (ESV) And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him (David). 

You would think that David's life would swing upwards from that moment. After all, he's caring for the lowly and the despondent, the people society has left behind. But the opposite happens. He's given one setback after another. And now the men begin to turn on him:

1 Samuel 30:6 (ESV) 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...

Yikes.

What do you do when everything and everyone turns against you? You do what David does here:
1 Samuel 30:6b (ESV) But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

Do you know how to strengthen yourself in God? Because you will need to do this at some point. There will come one or many opportunities in your life when no one but God is available to you for strength.

I want you to consider the last time the text mentions David becoming strong in the Lord. In that instance it is because of Jonathan's intervention:
1 Samuel 23:16 (ESV) And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.

A Jonathan moment like this is special. Because there will be times others can come alongside us and lift us up. Thankfully, this happens quite frequently when you are in a life-giving church that seeks to create spaces for people to minister to each other. But what happens when you don't get a Jonathan "moment"? What happens when no one shows up for you? You need to learn to strengthen yourself!

Now the question is, how? And the answer is the Lord's Word. The Psalmist writes:

Psalm 119:28 (ESV) My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!

If you are in the Word of God there is strength available to you. Now you may not feel it when you read it although sometimes you do. Most often, the strength comes later, after you've spent time devouring what God says. You see, the Word of the Lord is metaphorically referred to as bread precisely for this reason. When you eat bread, you are stronger later even when you feel like nothing is happening as you eat it.

When life is against you and you get to rock bottom and no one is there to intervene for you, turn to God's Word! Learn the secret to strength in spite of any situation. David did and from this moment forward, things begin to turn around.