A Person After God’s Own Heart: Session 5 – How to Encourage Yourself in the Lord

Notes:

How To Encourage Yourself In The Lord    See Session Slides Here

This was probably the most difficult time in David’s experience, at least up until this time.

  • Anointed king yet chased out of the kingdom. Hunted like an animal for 7 years.
  • Finally, in a lapse of faith, he made the decision to leave Israel and live with the Philistines (1 Sam.27:4).
  • He pretended to fight for the Philistines by raiding his own people. Faith is living without scheming.
  • After 3 years his men lined up for battle with the Philistines against Israel, but were not trusted.
  • In his absence Ziklag was attacked. Their families were captured, possessions stolen and city burned.
  • These mighty men of war wept till there was no more power to weep.
  • In the past David had the support of these men in all his trials. Now they were exhausted, hurt, angry and looking for someone to blame. He was no longer the giant-slaying hero. Some wanted to stone him.
  • But David encouraged himself in the Lord. How do you encourage yourself in the Lord?

1) Understand that you cannot see the whole picture

He was unaware of the events of 1 Sam.28. Saul, who banned spiritists, in his desperation sought one. Samuel was called up but announced that God had departed from him because he refused to obey Him, that David would become king in his place and that he and his sons would be with Samuel the next day. David knew none of this. We walk by faith, not sight. His exile was about to end and he would be crowned king.

2) Remember the Lord will always encourage you

You are not alone (Jn.16:32). ‘…be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might’ (Eph.6:10). Your strength is not outside of you, but within (Eph.3:16). David encouraged himself in the Lord.

  • What transpired between him and God? Maybe one of the psalms came out of this experience. Psa.42.
  • It was a ‘Maskil’, i.e. a contemplation, teaching psalm. David, who taught his men the fear of the Lord, here teaches us how to encourage ourselves in the Lord.
  • He had been excluded from the house of God. This grieved him. He thirsts after God (Psa.42:2).
  • He is experiencing God’s delay (v2). He knows God will help – but when? This is intensified by the taunts of his enemies (Psa.42:3). The Devil’s favourite taunt: ‘Where is your God now?’

3) Learn to talk to yourself

  • Our thoughts do not always originate from within, but they are processed from within.
  • How do we process those thoughts? (See Psa.42:5&11). His spirit talked to his soul.
  • Are you listening to yourself or talking to yourself? We must learn to speak back to ourselves. Most of our unhappiness stems from listening too much to yourself, instead of talking to yourself.
  • We cannot control our circumstances but we can control our emotions by our thoughts.
  • We learn to respond to our fears with faith. ‘Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him’ (Psa.42:5,11).
  • We have been given hope. Hope is the certain expectation of good. It concerns the future, (Rom.8:24). But true hope affects the present. I am not afraid of the present because I am assured of the future.
  • We must learn to bring our condition into line with our position.
  • Are we a victim or victor? What others do to us they are responsible for; how we react we are responsible for. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, which includes self-encouragement.
  • He quieted his soul, (Psa.42:11). This means to stay our minds upon God, (Isa.26:3). David did not have perfect peace, i.e. double peace; shalom, shalom; peace, peace. He had peace and doubts.
  • Psa.42:11. A person who is discouraged shows it on his face. But when he sees the face of God his soul is quieted. His circumstances did not change immediately, but the state of his soul did.
  • His spirit talked to his soul and lifted it up again. That’s what we must do, 2 Cor.10:3-5; Phil.4:8.
  • He sought God and His will and was assured of success. He and his men pursued the enemy.
  • David surprised the Amalekites who were celebrating. He rescued his people and recovered all the spoil, and gained the wealth of the Amalekites.
  • David showed that he knew God had given the victory by sharing the booty equally with those who went into battle and those who didn’t. David not only retrieved everything lost but with great plunder as well.