Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 1 Samuel 30 and Psalm 76

“But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (v.6 NKJV)

This was the turning point for David. He had hit rock bottom. Rejected and hunted down at home, he had defected to the Philistines. Rejected by the Philistines, now he returned to find his village destroyed and all their families carried off as slaves. In their grief and anger, even his own men were ready to stone him to death. This was the moment of truth.

Every other source of support was gone, except the LORD. But that was a good place for David to be, not a bad place. The LORD was inviting David to seek Him and His strength. And David chose to strengthen himself in the Lord. We are not told how he did so, but from his later Psalms we deduce that he called to mind the past works of God on his behalf, remembering that God had delivered him then and God could do it again! He called to mind the past promises which God had made to him, and the calling God had spoken over him in the past. And of course, he called to mind the love of God and that even when one walks through the valley of the shadow of death, the LORD your Shepherd is with you.

So finally, after all these months in self-imposed exile from the land of God, the people of God, and seemingly even from God Himself, David turns back from his foolish ways and consults the Lord for guidance. And, of course, the Lord’s guidance leads to victory, to the rescue of their families, and to the recovery of not only their own looted property, but the spoils of the Amalekites previous raids too.

Heavenly Father, I rejoice that Your arms are always open wide to me, no matter how far I have strayed from You or Your ways. Today I choose to teturn to You and to strengthen myself by drawing close to You. Thank You for Your past wonders, done on my behalf. Thank You for Your promises about my future. Thank You for Your good, pleasing and perfect plans for me. I choose to live in the light of these truths, in deeper fellowship with You, and in greater obedience to You today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.