[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 30:6 (NIV)

“David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

[Meditation]

By God’s help, David and his men were spared from going into battle against their own people, Israel, and returned to Ziklag, where they had been living. Ziklag had originally belonged to the tribe of Judah, though at that time it was under Philistine rule. But when they arrived, disaster had struck. The Amalekites had raided the city and burned it to the ground. The women had all been taken captive, and the livestock had been carried off as well. When the people saw what had happened, they turned on David and spoke of stoning him. In their eyes, all of this was his fault.

Scripture describes David’s heart in that moment with these words: “David was greatly distressed.” The Hebrew behind “distressed” carries the sense of being hemmed in, pressed into a narrow place. In other words, David was cornered, with nowhere to stand and no way out. He was under such crushing pressure that he could hardly breathe. And who could blame him? His home was burned, both of his wives had been taken, and the very men who had followed him were now ready to kill him. He truly had nowhere to turn.

And yet it is precisely there that the Lord God raises David up. The verse goes on: “But David found strength in the Lord his God.” More literally, the Hebrew reads, “He strengthened himself in the Lord.” It carries the idea of being made firm, held fast, and strengthened. When David had nothing left to lean on, he clung to God. There was no other way. And this is often how God holds His people—by bringing them to the place where they learn to depend on Him alone.

The same is true for us. If we have even the smallest thing to lean on, we tend to rely on ourselves. We may say with our lips that we have entrusted everything to God, but inwardly we still rest on something else. So the Lord removes those supports. He draws our eyes back to Himself. And when a person finds strength in the Lord, those other props begin to disappear. Others may still think there is something left to lean on, but the heart has already learned otherwise. This is how God teaches us what it means to live “in Him.” And this is the grace you and I are given to enjoy.

[Prayer]

Lord, through this gift of “today,” You teach me to look to You alone. You help me interpret the situations and circumstances before me through Your Word. And by that Word, You enable me to live and rest in You. How beautiful this grace is. Let me live this day in that grace. Amen.
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(Daily Meditation)

1 Samuel 30:1–20