Been to Ziklag?

I have been a really sorry blogger and tweeter lately.  Because of that, my twitter grade has dropped 2/10th's and my blog readership fell below 1000 for the first time in four months.  Oops.  The realities of life we all deal with - moving, work, financial pressure, too much to do, too little time - have gotten the upper hand on my digital output.  But during that absence a great deal of positive forward motion has been realized in our personal and professional lives.  So it's a bit of a trade off.

Had a long talk with a pastor friend of mine the other day.  He pastors an established church that is still going strong after more than 15 years.  We were talking about the reality of discouragement in people's lives and what we have to do to stand guard over discouragement, to keep it from taking root in our hearts.

He talked about David at Ziklag.  Do you know the story from 1 Samuel 30?  While David and his men were off fighting with the Philistines (long story), the Amalekites (a fierce and hated enemy) came into the camp of David and his men at Ziklag and took their wives and children captive, made off with all their possessions, and burned their camp to the ground.  David and his 600 men were despondent.  They wailed and mourned in sorrow at their great and tragic loss.  Before long, in their anger, they began to plot about killing David, blaming him for their horrible fate.

David - in his distress - had seemingly nowhere to turn.  He didn't have a friend in the camp.  Samuel the prophet of God, and David's spiritual mentor was gone.  He couldn't send someone from his coaching network an email.  He couldn't call up another king with his own band of 600 marauders on his i-phone.  He couldn't blog about it, he couldn't tweet about it, he was on his own.  And then he did an interesting thing.

1 Samuel 30:6 says, "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (emphasis mine).  Several translations say he 'encouraged himself'.  The point is, he found strength, he found encouragement, he found it in God, and he found it HIMSELF.  In this day and age, when the world is upside down, when good is evil and evil is good, when the economic future of the entire globe is uncertain and unstable, when radical fundamentalists from within and without are plotting the destruction of all we hold dear, when YOUR OWN LIFE is in turmoil, when you can't pay the rent, when your husband just left you, when you boss is an ogre, when your kids are on your last nerve, when you've been laid off, when every road you seem to go down is a dead end...finding strength in God YOURSELF is an important skill to have.

It's good to have a home church.  It's good to have friends you can count on to pray for you.  It's good to belong to a community of believers who will share your burden.  But there are times for ALL OF US, when it's UP TO US alone to strengthen and to encourage ourselves in God.  

How?  Do I jump up and down and shout and praise and sing?  Do I get down on my knees and softly whisper, "Jesus"? How do I strengthen myself - of FIND STRENGTH in God?  The Bible doesn't say exactly HOW David did it, but we get some insight in the very next verse as he inquires of God, he asks God for direction, he seeks input from his heavenly father.  And the INSTANT he does it, he is no longer ALONE.

David was never really alone, but just like us, we can put ourselves in a position of FEELING as though we are alone, when we stop looking to God as the source of life (and everything IN our lives).  We will not find the answers we are seeking within ourselves, all the less, the more challenging and difficult the circumstances we face.  But the INSTANT we turn to God to seek His help, His advice, His WAY...we are STRENGTHENED and we are ENCOURAGED.

Life knocking you around?  Stop trying to figure everything our yourself.  Turn your attention, your focus, your HEART towards God.  Inquire of (ASK) Him.  And you will find yourself flooded with the strength and encouragement that only comes from the power of a loving Creator.

It was a great meeting with my pastor friend.  And it's great to blog a bit.  Moving this weekend, but SO READY FOR SUNDAY!  I can't believe that we GET to go to CROSSROADS!  I'm strengthened and encouraged just thinking about it!  Have a GREAT weekend!