Unfailing Encouragement

By Paul Chappell

"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

All of us have times when we need encouragement, and almost all of us have known the experience of not finding anyone with a good or kind word to say. In that situation where do we turn for help? I’ve heard about some pretty heated board meetings, but I’ve never heard of one where they were ready to vote on stoning the leader. Yet David’s men were so distraught that they were ready to kill their leader.

At that crucial moment, without the help of friends or encouragers, the Bible tells us that David encouraged himself “in the Lord his God.” This is not the humanist notion of telling ourselves that we are good and things will get better, but rather the biblical truth of resting in the faithfulness of God even when we cannot see Him at work. No matter what our circumstances, we can always find strength and encouragement in His nature.

What we believe about God is never really put to the test until we face difficult days. It is easy to proclaim a strong faith when things are going well. It is something else entirely to be encouraged rather than defeated when everything is going wrong and even those who should be friends turn against us. The one source of encouragement that never fails is your loving Father in Heaven.

Today's Rooted Principle:

God is working in your life today, and His faithfulness can encourage you even when all others fail.