LEARNING TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN THE LORD
When David and his 600 men returned to their hometown of Ziklag, they found it burning and their families taken captive by the Amalekites. David and his troops wept loudly until they were without strength. His men were so distraught that they even spoke of stoning David. Yet David, when he had no one else to turn to, “found strength in the LORD his God.” Or as the KJV translates it, “but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
What do you do in times of trial, especially when others seem to have turned against you? Where do you go for help? David turned to the Lord. He knew how to encourage himself in God. As he wrote in today’s psalm reading, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man” (Psa. 118:8).
Do you know this spiritual discipline? Instead of medicating the pain or commiserating with others, David sought help from the Lord and found strength and encouragement for his soul.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we turn to You for our strength and encouragement today. For You are always faithful. You are our refuge and our strength! Therefore, we trust everything to You. Now lead us and strengthen us by Your Spirit this day we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.