A lot of times I turn to others around me for encouragement. I go to Brannon or Toni or Shawna or Hilda (or sometimes just the closest person available!) and just talk and talk until I get past a hurt or a disappointment or a bad day. One of the things I learned from Jim Wideman at the Orange conference though came from this chapter.
When you read through this, it's almost hard to relate to the intense emotion and urgency and violence that weave through it. And aside from a good war movie, it's hard to picture a group of tough men weeping so openly together.
But David didn't respond to this horrible offense by calling up a friend or getting a biddy to cheer him up. Verse 6 says he encouraged himself in the Lord.
Wow. That's what I want to do. I want to get better at turning immediately to God when I'm down. To keep to myself the bad feelings that would probably pass and fade after a while anyway. I want to skip the step of barfing my problems on others and learn to encourage myself in the Lord.
So what might that look like? Well, for me, probably a time out with some worship music, a walk outside, reading a good book, or listening to a podcast I liked. What about you? How will you encourage yourself in the Lord your God?
Monday, May 4, 2009
1 Samuel 30
Labels: history books
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1 comments:
It's a good lesson to learn. God reminded me about 25 years ago, when I was whining to Him in pray. I told Him I needed someone who cared for me, knew how I felt, had the answer I needed, etc---He said,"HERE I AM". The great I Am is the only one who who can get us past those rough times. He wants us to 'dump' on Him rather than others. Funny, I don't remember what 'crisis' sent me to complaining that morning, but HIS answer has taken me through many challenges since then. HE is always there and His wisdom,love and grace far exceeds anything or anyone on this earth.
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