David had just faced the most devastating, painful defeat ever at the hands of the Amalekites at Ziklag. The Amalekites burned David’s city to the ground and took all of the women, their wives, their sons, their daughters and those who were there captive
David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. David was majorly stressed out and discouraged and on top of that, his mighty men of valor who had fought by his side for years were so upset that they were considering stoning him. David and all of his dreams were destroyed and devastated in that snapshot of time.
What did David do?
David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God. The verb is ḥāzaq, "be(come) strong, strengthen, prevail, harden, be courageous." David found strength in the Lord His God; Instead of David continuing in self-destructive devastation, he turned to the Lord. Whatever David did to strengthen himself in the Lord, he possibly included scriptural meditation and worship as well as reminding himself of the faithfulness of God as demonstrated in the Psalms that he wrote. David went into God’s presence devastated and came out strong in faith and with a strategy from the Lord on how to move forward.
David and his mighty men of valor went on to defeat the Amalekites, take back their families and all of their stolen possessions… one day later David became king of Judah. Not only did he recover from his devastation, his dreams came true. If David had continued in the mire of defeat, instead of strengthening himself in the Lord, he probably would have been put to death by stoning, but instead of a funeral, there was a celebration.
The bible says in 1 Peter 5:8-9 ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…’
The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition says, ‘Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]…’
The way that we resist the devil is by being strong in faith and strong in the Lord. Do not yield to devastation, instead, lay hold of your dream by remaining strong in the Lord your God. Strengthen yourself in His Word, in His presence, with His Power, in the Name of Jesus today… your dream, your breakthrough and your victory is around the corner!
