February 28th, 2022
Written by Angie Drummonds
If you are like me, it’s easy for you to encourage others. When I have a friend going through something hard or needing encouragement, I can easily give them words of comfort. But when it comes to encouraging myself, it’s a little bit harder to do. Especially when the battle I am in feels like I’m losing and everything that matters has been taken away–when it feels like all I can do is weep.
In 1 Samuel, we read where David encouraged himself in the Lord, after he and his men came to Ziglag and found it burned with fire, and all their women and children had been taken captive. The Bible says David and those with him wept until they had no more strength to weep. They cried until they couldn’t cry anymore. The agony of their loss broke their hearts. And as they mourned for what was taken, their anger towards David grew to where they spoke of stoning him. Not only was David mourning for his own family, his men had turned against him as well. What David did next changed the game. He encouraged himself in the Lord and found strength in God, to not only defeat the Amalekites, but to recover all that was stolen!
David could have easily given up or become so distraught by the pain of his loss that he quit, but that isn’t what we saw David do. We see that he took time to acknowledge the pain of what had happened, he grieved, and then he turned to God to be encouraged and find the strength to go on.
If David depended on someone else to encourage him, he would have died there at the camp. But David remembered that God had not only been with him in every battle before, He was still with him even now. He remembered standing before a giant and watching it fall. He knew the promises of God over His life. He was supposed to be king, so David knew this couldn’t be the end. So what did he do? He encouraged himself in the Lord and pressed on. And we see that God kept his promises and David did recover all, just as God said he would.
When I feel weak or discouraged by the battles I am facing, I love to open my Bible and read. For me, God’s word has always been where I run when I need my heart comforted. I take great comfort when I read that weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning! It reminds me that even though I am walking in a hard season now, it won’t always be this way. I find strength in reading about how David didn’t quit when he lost everything, but how he instead encouraged himself in God and recovered everything the enemy had taken and saw the promises of God fulfilled in his life. I’m encouraged when I read about how Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, lied on, betrayed by everyone, and forgotten in prison, but God still took everything the enemy meant for evil and used it for good. It encourages me to know that what God did then, He can still do for me.
The Bible isn’t merely words on a page, it is God’s holy word. It’s a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths. It’s how we navigate through life and it’s where our faith is made strong. It’s where we find the encouragement we need in example after example of God’s faithfulness and his goodness, in everything we face.
Our praise team sang a song a couple weeks ago called “I Believe” that really encouraged me. One of the lyrics in the song says this:
“No matter where I go and no matter where I’ve been,
I will see your goodness Lord, in the land I’m livin’ in”
We may not see good in our circumstances, but we can always see the goodness of God all around us. Encourage yourself by remembering the goodness of God in your life. Don’t
forget all that He has done for you in the past. Just as you have seen His faithfulness and goodness before, you will see it again!
If you are like me, it’s easy for you to encourage others. When I have a friend going through something hard or needing encouragement, I can easily give them words of comfort. But when it comes to encouraging myself, it’s a little bit harder to do. Especially when the battle I am in feels like I’m losing and everything that matters has been taken away–when it feels like all I can do is weep.
In 1 Samuel, we read where David encouraged himself in the Lord, after he and his men came to Ziglag and found it burned with fire, and all their women and children had been taken captive. The Bible says David and those with him wept until they had no more strength to weep. They cried until they couldn’t cry anymore. The agony of their loss broke their hearts. And as they mourned for what was taken, their anger towards David grew to where they spoke of stoning him. Not only was David mourning for his own family, his men had turned against him as well. What David did next changed the game. He encouraged himself in the Lord and found strength in God, to not only defeat the Amalekites, but to recover all that was stolen!
David could have easily given up or become so distraught by the pain of his loss that he quit, but that isn’t what we saw David do. We see that he took time to acknowledge the pain of what had happened, he grieved, and then he turned to God to be encouraged and find the strength to go on.
If David depended on someone else to encourage him, he would have died there at the camp. But David remembered that God had not only been with him in every battle before, He was still with him even now. He remembered standing before a giant and watching it fall. He knew the promises of God over His life. He was supposed to be king, so David knew this couldn’t be the end. So what did he do? He encouraged himself in the Lord and pressed on. And we see that God kept his promises and David did recover all, just as God said he would.
When I feel weak or discouraged by the battles I am facing, I love to open my Bible and read. For me, God’s word has always been where I run when I need my heart comforted. I take great comfort when I read that weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning! It reminds me that even though I am walking in a hard season now, it won’t always be this way. I find strength in reading about how David didn’t quit when he lost everything, but how he instead encouraged himself in God and recovered everything the enemy had taken and saw the promises of God fulfilled in his life. I’m encouraged when I read about how Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, lied on, betrayed by everyone, and forgotten in prison, but God still took everything the enemy meant for evil and used it for good. It encourages me to know that what God did then, He can still do for me.
The Bible isn’t merely words on a page, it is God’s holy word. It’s a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths. It’s how we navigate through life and it’s where our faith is made strong. It’s where we find the encouragement we need in example after example of God’s faithfulness and his goodness, in everything we face.
Our praise team sang a song a couple weeks ago called “I Believe” that really encouraged me. One of the lyrics in the song says this:
“No matter where I go and no matter where I’ve been,
I will see your goodness Lord, in the land I’m livin’ in”
We may not see good in our circumstances, but we can always see the goodness of God all around us. Encourage yourself by remembering the goodness of God in your life. Don’t
forget all that He has done for you in the past. Just as you have seen His faithfulness and goodness before, you will see it again!
3 Comments
Good words and perfect for me today. I encourage myself as I look at all that God has done, is doing, and will do in the days ahead! Oh how awesome is our God!!! Thank you Angie!
Words I sure needed today Thank you Angie
Thank you so much for sharing that timely message today!! I needed that Word!