Moreover, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. I Samuel 30:6
Get the picture. The “moreover” in this verse refers to what’s going on in David’s life: he is being pursued by King Saul (who intends to kill him); his family (and those of all his soldiers) has been kidnapped by hostile enemies; and his followers are on the verge of mutinous rebellion. No wonder the future king of Israel was distressed!
Note his response. David’s default action in difficulties was not to first figure out how to solve the problem. He did not whine or complain or panic. After a situationally appropriate time of grieving, (v. 4), Scripture tells us that David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
What does that mean and how can we learn to do it, too?
The first thing we do is to look at what “strengthened” means. The Hebrew word is “chazaq”. It means “to be bound fast, to be attached, to make firm, to support.” This evokes the picture of a mighty cathedral being fortified with buttresses for support. That is a strong image!
What the writer of I Samuel is conveying to us is that David attached himself to the Lord - that was the source of strengthening for him. But not a weak velcro type attachment - rather this is demonstrating to us a firm binding, the support necessary to sustain stability. In the midst of desperate and distressing circumstances, David knew that only God could provide the strength and support he needed to survive.
One other important word in this passage is a short little pronoun - “his”. The verse says that David strengthened himself in the Lord HIS God. That tells us at least a couple of things - one, that David knew God personally. This was not the God of his fathers - this was his own. Also, this does not tell us that God became his during this time but rather the Lord as his God was already established. David was characterized by turning to the Lord all the way through this book and we see that his default was a habit that served him well. The rest of this passage tells the story of how God answered him, enabled him to not only defeat his enemies but also to rescue everything they had taken, and blessed his soldier with the spoils of victory. Strengthening led to success.
So that is what it means what it says David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. But how exactly did he do that? And how can we do the same?
First, instead of caving in to the distress and despair, David turned to the Lord. His default response is recorded elsewhere in Psalm 18 where he says I love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies.
We see from the verses that David penned in this Psalm that he clings to God as his refuge, the source of his strength - no doubt he called forth memories of the many times God had literally saved him. From lions and bears and a giant and a murderous king. David had witnessed firsthand God’s faithfulness and this formed his habit of turning to his Lord in times of distress.
In addition to calling upon the Lord because of his relationship based on God’s trustworthy faithfulness, we see that David sought wisdom .Verse 7 says that he went to the priest and asked for counsel in knowing what to do. With that godly support, he asked God for direction. Then he waited for the answer! We don’t know how long it was before God answered - perhaps it was quick but maybe not. Regardless, Scripture shows us that David did not act until he heard from the Lord.
AND THEN he obeyed what God had said to do! The rest of this passage tells us how David acted with courage, compassion, and generosity as he followed what God sent him to do. Calling on the Lord, recalling His faithfulness, responding in obedience, and remembering that our relationship with the Lord always includes the right treatment of others. David not only rescues ALL who had been taken captive by the enemy, he also shared the spoils of war with everyone - even those who had not participated in the rescue.
How can we follow the example of David and learn how to handle difficulties victoriously? We can purpose to turn to the Lord as our source of strength, our “chazaq”.I love that this passage includes the intense emotion that David felt (v. 4 “David and the people with him lifted up their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep”) and acknowledges our humanity - we do need to process our emotions! But where do we go from there? Instead of giving in to panic or despair, instead of relying on our own abilities and resources, instead of remaining in the inevitably intense emotions, we can turn to the Lord. How, practically, do we do that? We recall the character of God. Recounting times of His faithfulness to us. Rehearsing the truth of Who He is. Repeating to our stressed out hearts as often as necessary what Scripture tells us about the Lord our God.
As our hearts become stabilized and strengthened, then we can seek Godly counsel about what our next steps to be. Having trustworthy people in our lives is such a source of strengthening support, just like the buttresses of mighty cathedrals! These are the ones who join us in asking God for direction…and then encouraging us to obedience. Most specifically, we can follow David’s example in going to our Great High Priest - Christ is the way we access God to ask for help and wisdom and strength. We don’t have to go through an earthly priest - Jesus is our way to the Father. God’s path for us in distress may not be easy - likely it will call for courage - but it will always be the way of righteousness and will include the right treatment of others , just as it was for David.
Times of desperation and distress and intense grief will come. That we can be sure of. But we can also be sure that God’s victory for us comes when we learn to strengthen ourselves in Him. Just like David.