by Jacob Ninan
David was running from King Saul who was after his life. God had anointed David to be the next king, and Saul considered him as a threat to his own kingdom. David, the men who were with them and their families, were staying at one time in a place called Ziklag. One day when they returned home after their travel, they found Ziklag burnt down, and their wives and children missing. This was very distressing for all of them. But the men put the blame on David for what had happened, and wanted to stone him to death. When there was no on to comfort him and all the people around him had turned against him, David turned to the Lord for his comfort, encouragement and strength (1Sam.30:6). He encouraged himself in this way by seeking the Lord.
Many of us may have many brothers and sisters from the church, family members and friends to help us when we are in trouble. That is something to be thankful for, but shall we check if we have come to depend on them rather than on God? We may also have seen that sometimes when we need help, people are not available? They may be busy with their own situations, they may not really understand what we are going through, etc. Ultimately we need to realise that we are the ones who are responsible for our lives, and that we need to learn how to manage our lives even if we are alone. The only way to make that sure is by learning to 'encourage ourselves in the Lord'.
One of the blessings God has given us is the Bible, the word of God. He has placed in it different things that can bring us comfort, encouragement and strength for the different situations we face (Rom.15:4). Let us look at some ways by which we can strengthen ourselves.
1. What God has done for others
The Bible is full of reports about how God has taken care of different people in need. He rained manna from the sky and split rocks open to provide water for the people or Israel who were walking through the desert. He kept a king awake in the time of Esther in order to prevent a wicked man's plans to destroy all Jews. He even stopped the earth from rotating in order to let Joshua win a battle. These kinds of incidents remind us that God can do whatever He needs in order to help us in our special time of need. Reminding ourselves of such things and recognising what kind of a God we have is one way we can encourage ourselves.2. Ebenezers
Once when God gave the people of Israel victory over their enemies, the prophet Samuel told them to erect a stone and call it Ebenezer (1Sam.7:11,12). Whenever they saw that stone, they were to remind themselves how the Lord had been helping them so far. We too have many such 'Ebenezers' to remember in our own lives, stories of healing from sickness, escape from accidents, miraculous answers to prayer, etc. Remembering such experiences will help us to encourage ourselves, knowing that the same God is still with us. We may not know how exactly He will help us in our present situation, but we can trust God to take care of us."Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion" (Psa.103:1-4). When we look back at our lives, we can how God has been tremendously merciful to us in forgiving our sins. How many times has He healed us from sickness! How many accidents has He saved us from! He has delivered us from the pit of hell itself! When we think back on such Ebenezers in our life, how that encourages us!
3. The promises of God
When we recognise how graciously God has taken care of us in the past, we can draw strength from His promises, knowing that He will keep each of them. He has promised never to leave or forsake us (Heb.13:5). Even when we cannot see what He is doing, we can believe He is with us taking care of us. He is not a fair-weather friend who will be with us when things are all good, but He will be especially there to help us when we are in trouble. He loves us with a love that will never stop (Jer.31:3). He will make sure that waters will not drown us nor the fire burn us (Isa.43:2). He is not promising us that there will not be any flood or fire to trouble us, but that He will not allow them to destroy us. Jesus said that we ought to strengthen ourselves knowing that He overcame all the world and that He would be with us when we went through problems (Jn.16:33).God tells us that we should not think that no one else goes through the peculiar problems that we are facing, but encourages us by saying that other people are also going through such situations (1Cor.10:13). He promises us that He will not allow us to be tested beyond our ability. This is sometimes difficult for us to accept because we certainly feel in some situations that things are too much for us! But we can understand this better when we look back. Things were difficult for us, but when we sought God's grace, together we were able to deal with situations. It is somewhat like trying to strengthen our muscles by lifting weights. It is when we try to lift heavier weights than we were able to lift earlier that our muscles gain strength. We can understand how God is trying to strengthen our spiritual muscles by allowing us to face tougher situations than before. But when we lean on God for strength, they will not be too difficult for us.
One place that can discourage us badly is when we have fallen into sin and broken our commitment to our Lord. He does not want us to fail, but He knows that we might fall. So He has already made provisions for our restoration. If we confess our sins, He will forgive and restore us to Himself (1Jn.1:9). Even if our sin was dark, after He washes us we will be white like snow (Isa.1:18).
When we think of promises such as these from our Lord who always keeps His word, that is another thing that can encourage us in our times of need.
Progress
When we have been looking to God for grace in every part in our life, we can look back and realise that we are not the same as we were before. There is a lot more work to be completed in our lives, but is it encouraging to see that God has been at work in our lives. We realise we are not perfect, but we can be greatly encouraged to go on in the direction of perfection.On the contrary, if we are the same as before, perhaps we have not been leaning on God for strength. If we are still grumpy, complaining against others, etc., it may be that we have not learnt to encourage ourselves in the Lord. Instead of allowing ourselves to be deceived by the deceitfulness of sin, we must apply more diligence to get closer to God (Heb.3:13). If our 'sickness' has not been healed yet, maybe we should increase the dosage of the medicine! Let us go more earnestly to the word of God, which is our spiritual food that can lead us to greater and greater salvation (1Pet.2:2). Even as we listen to others who encourage us, let us build our direct relationship with the Lord so that we can encourage ourselves in Him.