In I Samuel chapter twenty-nine, we read about the time when David had gone to hide from Saul and was in the land of the Philistines. However, when the Philistines were ready to go out to battle, the lords of the Philistines wanted David to be sent back home. So, king Achish sent him and his men back home. They traveled three days and came to Ziklag.
In chapter thirty, we see the horrible scene that awaited David and his men. The Amalekites had invaded the city and burned it with fire. They did not kill anybody, but they took all the women captive, and apparently the children as well. What a shock to arrive to a scene like this! How did this affect David? I Samuel 30:4 says, “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.”
Though the state of the city was devastating, this was not the worst of David’s troubles. The men of Ziklag knew that David was a warrior and a man of valor. Why was he not there when this city was in trouble? Not only that, David had been hiding in the land of the Philistines, among Israel’s enemies. The men of Ziklag became angry with David and began to blame him for the city’s predicament. Verse six says, “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….”
Here we see David in dire straits. The city was destroyed, all the women were taken captive, and the people blamed David and wanted to stone him. In addition, his own heart was aching because his two wives were taken captive as well. This was indeed a very stressful situation. How did this stress affect David?
- He wept until he had no more power to weep
- He was greatly distressed
David was not immune to the affects of stress. The present circumstances broke his heart and made him greatly burdened. However, David responded to his stress in the right way. The rest of verse six says, “but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” The situation looked impossible, but David found comfort in God and looked to him for help. This was the right thing to do.
How did God help David?
God told David what to do. When David cried to God for wisdom, God gave it to him. (See verse seven)
God told David to pursue after the Amalekites and promised him that he would recover all. So, David obeyed God. God helped him find where the Amalekites had gone. He and his men overcame them and killed all but 400 men who escaped on camels. He recovered all that the Amalekites had taken away and rescued his two wives. Nothing was lacking, not the sons or the daughters or any of the spoil. Verse nineteen says, “David recovered all.”
God does not always give us such a miraculous turn-around of events, but He does answer our prayers, gives us wisdom and encouragement, and directs us what to do next. If we turn to Him and find our encouragement in Him, God will comfort us and show us what to do. David’s situation was very bad, but not too bad for God. David allowed God to be his Helper and to lift his weary heart and give him strength. God is still the same today, and He can do the same for us.