By Marsha Norman
“And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
So 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.
And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
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.” 1 Sam 30:1-6
David encouraged himself in the Lord, for he knew that though “weeping may endure for a night, joy would come in the morning.”
The entire passage in 1 Samuel 1:1–6 deals with David being under great distress. Enemies had invaded Ziklag, carrying off the women, children, food, and any equipment and supplies of value, but there are so many lessons we can take away from the account.
- We all have our Ziklags, MOAP (MOTHER OF ALL PROBLEMS) moments.
- Nothing is wrong with weeping; David and his men wept openly. We grieve differently. Sometimes it’s silent or private tears. I got some pushback when my mother passed. Where are the tears? But God…!
- The passage says, “But David encouraged himself in the Lord, his God.”
At times, there is no one to turn to, or we really don’t want to talk, as it produces so much emotion. In David’s case, it was worse, as it was his own men and supporters who turned against him and wanted to stone him. But David turned to God and encouraged himself.
This is the first step: we must counter despair with encouragement; if we are in deep depression, it makes the problem worse.
- David then inquired of the Lord through the priest. We can go directly to God through prayer.
- Pursue! The answer the priest got was to “pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” Giving up is not an option; we have to pursue!
- At times, our help will come from the most unlikely source. For David, it was an “injured enemy soldier.” Let us not miss our help because it might come disguised.
- David still had to fight the enemy, although God had promised him success. We still have to fight; perhaps our fight is fasting and responding to unfair criticism in a polite manner; it could be an exercise programme. Who knows? A fight is always part of the process.
- David recovered all and shared the goods he received. We need to share our testimony. Somebody needs to know that we survived a Ziklag and that they can do so too.
Let’s keep praying for each other; prayer moves mountains.
Blessings!
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Marsha Norman is a Human Resources Specialist, Motivational Speaker, and Life Coach. Author of A Love Like This, Managing People, Get on the Bike, and The Journey Continues, she does voluntary work under the Get on the Bike Programme which is primarily aimed at enhancing the personal and professional development of young adults. Contact Marsha at marshanorman2017@gmail.com