In Trials, Come To The Lord In Prayer

Trials come to all people, but sometimes it is very difficult to bear. This is when we need God leading us through these times more than ever. David went through His share of trials while growing up. He also had to make some really tough decisions when it came to his life and the life of his family and his people. Not only was he fleeing from Saul for safety many years of his life, but also there was war upon the land that he was a part of it. One such war was when the Amalekites had come to the city of Ziklag and set it on fire, while taking away their possessions, their women, and also their children. This, David came to find out when his men had come back to the city and now seeing the aftermath first hand. This really hit him hard to see this, for even his two wives were taken away captive. And how do you think he reacted after finding this all out? Did he overreact and go after these men out of anger, or did he pray to God in order to know what to do? This answer may surprise you, for you may not do the same thing as David did, which he enquired upon the Lord. So he did as God commanded and not what he wanted to do. This is that story. It reads, ¹“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. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:6-8)

It was because David prayed, that he got the answer he needed from God. Therefore, the Lord’s wishes came to pass. This is when David and his six hundred men went and pursued after the Amalekites. They did this and even stumbled upon an Egyptian man while on their journey. So they fed this man and he also admitted to being a part of the Amalekite people who pillaged the land of Ziklag. David then, knowing this, ¹“said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.” (1 Samuel 30:15-19) You see, even when the enemy has come and done terrible things to us, we need to enquire in the Lord for help and He will respond. He did this with David and will do this with us also, who believe in Him. The Lord is our protector and when He tells us to do something, we should act on it, for we now have God on our side fighting the battle with us. We are not alone when God is on our side.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I believe in You and trust in you for answers. Even in my distress do I come to You for guidance and direction. I may not know what to do in my life when I know that the enemy is closing in, but You have a way to allow me to escape such things. Nothing that the enemy wants to throw at me, will ever stand up against Your will power for my life. I am stronger because You are with me. You give me encouragement when I cannot find it anywhere else. Thank You, Lord. For even when things are hard, You come in and lift me up, that my burdens may be light. There is no such bondage that I can ever be under that You cannot give me a way to escape it. For You are all powerful beyond measure. My hope is restored even under the hardest of circumstances, because You have given me an outlook on the situation that I didn’t see before, and are now helping me move forward. So in death do I trust that You know why it happened, and I put it in Your hands. When there is a robbery or theft, I trust that You know what we should do next. Even when jobs end unexpectedly, I trust that You know why this happened and I have hope that You, Lord, will help me find an even more suitable job for me and my family. It can be hard when trials face my family because of an addiction, but I know that you have the power to lead me or another family member out of it. We just need to keep praying and trusting in You, Lord, for answers. We may find ourselves with some hard decisions to make, but even these things are made more simple to do when You are there with us. Thank You, Lord. I love You, God. Amen.

1 Samuel 30

¹1 Samuel 30 (KJV)
1 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;
2 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.
3 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.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
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.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord;
27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.