And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. (1 Samuel 30:1-10)
Today's Morsel: Let all who are facing difficult times encourage themselves in the Lord. The Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captive that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So when David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. Have you ever just cried so hard until the only reason you stopped crying was because you were too weak to cry any longer? I mean, that is some serious crying. When you weep so long you don't have the strength to weep anymore. You're not stopping because you've found your joy, peace, or refuge, you just can't cry anymore. Your heart is still going, but your body doesn't have the strength to keep up with you. This was a heart breaking situation for David and his men. Are you heartbroken today? If you are, I want you to know that Jesus has come to heal the broken-hearted, preach deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). It broke these men's very spirit to see their families taken captive. In the midst of all this grieving, the men got so angry with David that they wanted to kill him. So, on top of two wives being taking captive, he has to deal with threats of his own men talking about stoning him because they felt he was to blame for their condition and situation. Have you ever been hit with a low-blow, and while you are down you get hit again? That's what Satan does. He hits you when you are down. But the writer of Hebrews said, "Consider Jesus, let's you be weary and faint in your mind" (Hebrews 12:3). Our Lord was beaten. Spit on. Kicked. Bruised. Thorns thrust into his head. Weak. Falsely accused. Despised. Rejected. Made to carry His own cross. I mean you already feel low, but here comes another dagger. You're already crying your eyes out and someone else comes along, insensitive to your sorrows, and kicks you when you are down. It's very difficult to deal with. Life can be cruel sometimes. Just when you think you see the light at the end of the tunnel, here comes another train. You think to yourself, "I'm already dealing with enough." And just when you think you should get a break, something else jumps on top of your already over-loaded apple cart. Let me let you in on a little secret, we all have our days and seasons. Scripture says that David encouraged Himself in the Lord. David wasn't about to let the situation control Him. He was out to control the situation. So the next time you are faced with what seems like the flood gates of hell trying to overflow over you, sing this song:
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