ARE YOU DISCOURAGED
By: Elizabeth Bankole
Anyone can be discouraged. No one is immune to discouragement. Even the strong saints in the Bible have felt discouraged, as we do in our contemporary world. However, the Bible is clear about how to get out of the cloud of discouragement, as we can nip it in the bud before it gets the best of us.
The scriptures provide many examples of discouraged saints. David was a good example of someone who experienced discouragement many times. There was the occasion in 1 Samuel 30. David was living in Ziklag, the asylum where David and his men lived, when he ran away from King Saul. King Achish gave him Ziklag to live in. David was living among the Philistines against his will.
It so happened that Achish, the King of the Philistines, had to fight King Saul. Achish invited David and his men to join him in the battle against King Saul, to which David agreed. However, while on their way to the fight, the Philistine leaders refused to let David and his men continue into battle with them. They believed David could turn against them in battle and band together with the army of Israel to gain Saul’s pardon. Since the Philistines refused to let David and his men fight with them, they returned home and reached Ziklag on the third day.
While David and his men were away with Achish, simultaneously, the Amalekites raiders attacked Ziklag. David’s wives and children, the wives and children of his four hundred soldiers, and everyone else, both old and young, were held hostage, and Ziklag was burnt down. The city that was a beehive of activities before they left is now a ghost town – 1 Samuel 30: 1-3.
David and his four hundred men were downcast, discouraged, depressed, and despaired. The situation was so bad that the four hundred men with David, the valiant soldiers, wept aloud until they had no strength to weep—1 Sam. 30: 4. To add to the sorrow of David, the four hundred men that used to be loyal to him contemplate stoning him because of their wives and children that had been captured. All hope is lost, and David is at a dead end. However, despite this pandemonium, David did two things we can apply when discouraged.
- David encourages himself in the LORD – verse 6: “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.”
What does it mean to encourage oneself in the LORD? When everything is falling apart, pause and think of God’s goodness. David understood God’s goodness and protective love for making the Philistine leaders refuse his going to war with them. If he had gone with his men to the battle, they would have returned in three to five months, which would have been too late to pursue the enemies and rescue their families. This love of God encourages David, and faith arises in him.
2. David inquired from the LORD – verse 8, “and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
God will never leave us in limbo. Since David asked God what to do, he was given direct direction. God told him to pursue the enemies and assured him of victory. Encouraged and strengthened by his faith in what God said, he pursued the Amalekites. The Bible says, “He recovered all. Nothing was missing:” – verses 18-20. David and his men got everything back.
Are you discouraged? Pause and encourage yourself in the LORD. The revelation of God’s love will inspire you to pray and receive direct instruction on what action to take. Faith in God is the key to fighting the battles of life.
What do I do when I get discouraged because I believe God is against me? Watch out for my next blog.