Article by: Terry Meeuwsen
It was unseasonably cold for Virginia and the wind inflicted an additional bitter drop in the temperature. My husband and children were all asleep and I had come outside to walk the dog one last time before locking up the house for the night. The frozen grass crunched beneath my feet and I could feel how solidly frozen the ground was. There is a barren beauty to the stillness of a cold winter night that always captures my attention. I wrapped my coat tightly around me and looked up into the still sky. The moon hung suspended in the night surrounded by sparkling stars, and I stood awed by the majesty and vastness of God’s creation. And immediately, on the heels of that moment of awe, came an overwhelming sense of how little I was, how small our earth is, in the endless span of time and space.
From my spirit flowed Psalm 8…
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
I was filled with a sense of amazement that the Creator and Designer of all of this was my Father…not by chance, but by choice. He CHOSE me to be His daughter. It took my breath away. Who can grasp such an unfathomable truth?
I doubt I’ll ever be able to wholly understand the miraculous phenomenon of that this side of heaven, but standing out there alone with God in the quiet majesty of His creation, the warmth of His love washed over me. I exhaled slowly and the words “thank you, thank you” just kept bubbling up from deep inside. It is good to be in the presence of the Lord.
I am a person who loves quiet. The rest of my family thinks I’m crazy. I drive without the radio on, I have no TV in any of the common use rooms on my first floor, and I stay up by myself late at night writing or reading. Quiet brings peace to my soul. But, what do you do when turmoil surrounds you…when the bottom drops out… when disaster strikes? It seems to be an inevitable part of life and comes and goes for all of us. The secret to finding victory over our circumstances is revealed to us by David in I Samuel 30. But first let me tell you what was going on in David’s life and world.
No matter how David tried to honor Saul, he could not overcome Saul’s jealousy or Saul’s determination to destroy him. God had already spoken through Samuel that David would one day be king. The people loved David, as did all the troops. He was a great warrior and fearless in battle. David never tried to take the throne from Saul or harm him in any way. Yet Saul could clearly see that David had the favor of God upon his life, and Saul was consumed with jealousy. After many failed attempts to make peace with Saul, David fled with his men into Philistine territory. He submitted himself and his men to Achish the son of the King of Gath. Achish received him and gave him a village called Ziklag to live in. For a year and a half David and his men lived in Philistine territory. During that time, Saul stopped pursuing David because he knew he had left Israel. Yet in those days, the Philistines fought against Israel. David had great favor with Achish and when the Philistines went forth to fight Israel in Jezreel, David and his men marched at the rear of the Philistine army. The commanders of the army were angry with Achish for bringing the Hebrews along and insisted that David and his men leave their ranks and return to Ziklag. It took three days for them to travel back home. When they arrived home, they found their city had been attacked and burned down by the Amalekites. Their wives and children had all been captured. David and his men were exhausted and wept aloud until they had no strength left to grieve. The men’s anger and bitterness over the loss of their families turned them against David and some of them even talked of stoning him. Things were not going well for this shepherd turned warrior.
Though he had never been anything but loyal to Saul, King Saul wanted to destroy him. On the run for a long time, constantly moving and in fear for his life, he finally moves into enemy territory just to survive. Now, through no fault of his own the Philistines reject him, his home is destroyed, his wives and children are kidnapped, and some of his own men are bitterly threatening to kill him. Could it get any worse? This is the kind of day where you just want to throw up you hands and cry “uncle” – I give up!
But then there comes one little line of scripture that made all the difference in the midst of this mayhem. But David encouraged himself in the Lord!
I find this amazing for a number of reasons. First, David had the presence of mind in the midst of such discouraging, depressing circumstances to stop and turn away from his problems and refocus on the Lord.
Second, when he chose to do that he didn’t begin to badger God with “why me?” or “if you’re really God how could you let this happen?” We never even hear the whimper of “where are you?” Instead it says David encouraged himself in the Lord. He began to remember and remind himself of who God was. He recounted the greatness of God and His faithfulness to David and to Israel.
Third, he forgave Saul. He could have wasted a lot of energy railing against this King who had so unjustly tried to destroy him. David never spoke ill of Saul, but instead honored him as God’s anointed. He didn’t have a need to be right — he had a desire to be righteous.
Fourth, David was a worshipper. As he reflected on the holiness and majesty of the one true God of Israel, he worshipped…even through his tears.
And fifth, before he made a plan or took a step, he inquired of the Lord. “Lord, what should I do next?” When we seek the Lord and are willing to wait on Him, He always responds to our need. When David asked, God told him to pursue the Amalekites and He would give them victory. Along the way, 200 of David’s men dropped out, too exhausted to go on. But David and 400 remaining men pressed on. That is the sixth step – David believed the Word of the Lord. One third of his men dropped out. If that many men were so exhausted they couldn’t continue, then David and the other 400 must have been exhausted, too. He could have counted heads, considered their weakened state, and decided not to go on.
But God had said, “you will certainly overtake them and succeed.” David took God at His word and pressed on. I Samuel tells us that David and his men did overtake the Amalekites, and he fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day. He didn’t get out of the battle, but he did come through to victory. A complete victory! No one got away and David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken. Nothing was missing! At the lowest point in his life, surrounded by negative and impossible circumstances, and physically expended, David chose to turn away from the turmoil and encourage himself in the Lord.
How about you? What’s your response when your plans fall apart, when you’re treated unjustly, or when tragedy strikes? It’s so normal and so easy to get swallowed up in the emotion of the moment. Our feelings of pain, loss, or fear consume our thoughts and fill us with anxiety and confusion. What do we do? How do we survive? I Samuel 30 gives us the strategy of King David, a man after God’s own heart. Encourage yourself in the Lord! Stop, turn away from your problems and set your eyes upon the Lord. Remember who God is. Recount His greatness and faithfulness to you. Forgive those who have treated you unjustly. You’d be amazed how many victories are detained or lost by lack of forgiveness. Worship the Lord – even through your tears. Then, inquire of the Lord. What would He have you do? Wait until you know you’ve heard from Him. And then – Believe the Word of the Lord and press on.
But there was another element to David’s success. In fact, it was the key reason he was able to encourage himself in the Lord in the midst of difficulty. David spent time in the presence of the Lord every day. He didn’t wait until his moment of need. It was a way of life for him. He recognized God’s voice when God spoke to him because he had heard it many times before. David could recount the greatness and faithfulness of God because he had seen God move in his life and circumstances daily. God had called him from a shepherd’s field to be an anointed leader. He had delivered him in many battles and saved him from the wicked plots of Saul. He had given him favor with his own people as well as his enemies. David knew that he knew God would be with him through thick and thin — no matter what the circumstances — no matter how impossible the situation.
Receive that assurance for yourself today. Begin today to practice the presence of the Lord — to enjoy His company — to recognize and obey His voice. Then, when the unexpected challenges and discouragement of life come your way, you will respond like David and encourage yourself in the Lord.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Terry Meeuwsen is co-host of The 700 Club and Living the Life (ABC Family Channel). Her background as a singer, broadcaster, Miss America and working mother gives her a diverse portfolio for the Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) programs. A native of Wisconsin, Meeuwsen attended St. Norbert College. She then moved to Los Angeles and joined the New Christy Minstrels. Her two-year tour with the group included seven recordings, international travel and appearances on major television talk and variety shows. In 1973 Terry was crowned Miss America.
Meeuwsen is the author of Christmas Memories: From Our Heart to Yours, Near to the Heart of God, Just Between Friends, and The God Adventure, a 2005 release from Multnomah Publishing (www.godadventure.com). Terry and her husband, Andy, have seven children. Learn more by visiting www.terrymeeuwsen.com.
