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As we finished praying this Sunday, a member of the church made a statement about encouraging yourself. 

       

There are points on the road of life where you have to be your own cheerleader, taking the necessary steps to keep your spirits up and the mojo high. Not that others are not beside you or don’t do their part to build you up, but sometimes, you have to encourage yourself. 

       

The second king of Israel, prior to becoming ruler, had to do this very thing. David was in an unusual place during this time. He was once a mighty leader in the army for King Saul but the king turned on David and attempted to kill him twice. To save his own skin, David had to hightail it out of the palace the borders of Israel. 

 

David went from a leader in the army to a fugitive and was on the run for quite some time, finally fleeing the country for his safety and ending up living among the Philistines, the enemy of Israel.         

        

While living in enemy territory, David and his men offered to fight with them. The Philistines were not open to this as they feared David and his men would turn on them, so they sent David and his guys back to the city where they had been dwelling. 

       

Unknown to David, while they were gone from their city another band of people came to the city of Ziklag where he and his men were living, plundered their possessions, took their wives and children, and then burned the city to the ground. As David and his men are returning they come to Ziklag and discover what has taken place. The men were distraught to say the least. These strong, brute warriors wept until there was no more strength in them to weep. 

       

Then, if that was not enough, the men who had been with David talked about stoning him. David was the leader who had led them away from Ziklag and they probably felt this would not have happened had David not made the decision to leave the city. Of course, everyone was upset and emotions were high at that time. But for David, it must have seemed like everything was against him. David had a lot going against him, but what he did next was amazing! 

       

During this very turbulent time, David encouraged himself in the Lord. There was no one around to encourage David so he had to take matters into his own hands to inspire and motivate himself. That had to take courage, faith and a good dose of gumption! 

 

When everything was falling apart, David had to be his own cheerleader. 

       

Did it make a difference? Yes! After self-encouragement, David and his men overtook the band of robbers who took their families and possessions and they recovered all. That self-encouragement was the turning point during this time in David’s life. Shortly after this, David became king of Judah and eventually of Israel. 

       

The key was that David encouraged himself in the Lord when things looked hopeless. He had to take steps to ensure the encouragement but it was rooted in the Lord. Like David, there are times in our lives when we must encourage ourselves in the Lord. When it seems as if everything is going wrong, life is upside down and on many challenges and difficulties, that is when we must muster up the energy and find our strength and motivation in the Lord. 

 

We do this by putting ourselves in remembrance of who God is, the promises God has made, and the fact that this moment too will pass. There will be brighter days and if we can find our encouragement in the Lord, that will assist us in making it through until we reach those better days. 

 

So, whatever you are facing today, encourage yourself in the Lord and see what a difference it will make!