Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Encourage Yourself in the Lord

"Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." Samuel 30:6 NKJV

Have you ever been down in the dumps? Maybe it was a bad medical report. Or perhaps a relational situation, or finances. I remember hearing from our accountant that we owed the government a large sum of money. We didn't have the money needed. We had cashed out our retirement funds to pay our debt. The debt was gone, but the penalties and higher taxes were not. Now we were facing debt again in the form of monthly payments to the government.

Peggy and I prayed and then I went for a walk. It would have been so easy to fall into discouragement. I started praying and reminding myself of the scriptures that spoke of God's care and promises to His children. I remembered when Peter needed to pay taxes and Jesus provided the money for him in a most unusual way. I reminded myself the we are in God's hands.

The peace of God began filling me and worry washed away. I had the same feeling when Peggy was diagnosed with cancer. I began finding strength and encouragement in the Lord.

David was alone. His men had lost their families and now were ready to kill David. The Bible says that David strengthened himself in the Lord. How do you find strength in the Lord? For me it's through prayer, the Bible and worship. I remember a friend who lost a child at birth. He immediately began worshipping God. Sounds nuts. But when we move in the opposite spirit and fix our eyes on Jesus, we find strength.

This life will bring many challenges. Each challenge could be enough to take us out. It is imperative that we learn and practice finding strength and encouragement in the Lord!

So where do you find the strength to carry on? Give Jesus a try. He's strong enough for all your cares.

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