“How to Handle the Unknowns”

 

BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 28-31  

                Panic has hit the camp of David.  While David is returning from his rejection by the Philistines, the Amalekites have raided David’s camp in Ziklag.  They burned the camp with fire and have taken the women and children as hostages.   David and his men begin to panic.  Are their families still alive?  What did they do with them?  Where did they take them?  With all these unknowns, David’s men quickly turn on him, placing all the blame on his shoulders.  Was David responsible for this tragedy?  Of course not, but he was their leader.  They had forsaken their homes in Israel and had placed all their trust in David and now that trust is in jeopardy.  The weight of all this happening so quickly has caused David to be “greatly distressed”.   His men had even began discussing stoning David.  What is he going to do; the next few moments of his life are crucial to what could happen. I seriously doubt you have ever been in a situation like David, but I bet you can sympathize with him.  You too might be going through some desperate unknowns in your life that you may or may not have any control over.  It could be your parents are going through a divorce, it could be a financial problem, or it could be the fear of the new coronavirus.  When these desperate unknowns appear, we have one of two ways in which we can react.  We can be like David’s men and panic, allowing our minds to wonder all the “what ifs” till we drive ourselves crazy.  On the other hand, we could respond like David.  Pay close attention to what David does in I Samuel 30.6, “…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God”.  It seems such a simple thing to read within the text, but so difficult to practice during panic.  David knew that gaining strength for the LORD his God would enable him to combat the unknowns in his life with trusting in all his knowns.   David knew that God had a perfect track record.  He had kept him alive thus far, He had revealed that David would be king, and He had used him to defeat the Goliath.  This was simply another unknown, simply just another Goliath.  The next time you are faced with a bunch of questions concerning some unknowns in your life, just take a moment to breath and “strengthen yourself in the LORD”.

 

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