"Be the Hero They Need"

1st Samuel 30.6 Amplified Bible

“David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

David and his band of six hundred men were making raids on nomadic tribes of the Negev. Upon returning home, they found the town empty. No wives, sons, or daughters. Their temporary residence in Ziklag was invaded by Amalekites who kidnapped every woman and child when their husbands and fathers were away fighting battles with David. They were not home to protect their families. 

In grief these men “lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep” (1st Samuel 30 4). They turned their rage and bitterness toward their leader. These men believed would never see their wives and children again, and they blamed David. He would have to pay for this tragedy. The soldiers “spoke of stoning him” to death.

I have never experienced this level of chaos and horror. I have felt lost, ashamed, frightened, and alone. I have known failure and moments serious defeat and had my fair share of detractors. I even wondered in difficult times far past if the world would have been a better place had I never been born. But I cannot claim to have faced my own execution by a mob of six hundred angry men blaming me for the loss of their loved ones. This was a seriously bad moment for David.

A lesser man would have given up, admitted defeat, and surrendered his life. Instead David headed to the only place he knew to go. He fell on his face before the Lord.

“...David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

God inspired David to chase down and defeat the Amalekites. He went from villain to hero because he was able to ‘strengthen himself in the Lord.’

David’s response to tough times gives me hope. I too can ‘strengthen myself in the Lord’ and be the hero my family and loved ones deserve.

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The sketch at the top of this post is called "Mob" from an Islamic clip art site at http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/kids/Clipart/drawings/drawings.html.