Into The Enemy's Camp

"Now it happened when David and his men came home to Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev (the south country) and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they had taken captive the women and all who were there, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off to be used as slaves and went on their way. 

When David and his men came to town and it was burned, and their wives and their sons and daughters had ben taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they were too exhausted to weep any longer.

Now David's two wives had been captured, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Further, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all of them were embittered, each man for his sons and daughters. But David felt strengthened and encouraged in the Lord his God."
                                                          I Samuel 30:1-6




David had another battle to fight. This time, the battle was against the Amalekites who were known adversaries to the Lord. In fact, the only reason the Amalekites continued to exist was because Saul had won an incomplete battle over them and had not obeyed the Lord in the way that he should have (1 Samuel 15:1-11). Now it was David's turn to take on those who opposed God and all that He valued.

The Bible is unclear as to why God allowed this to happen to David, especially while David and his men were taking care of business with the Philistines. The enemy viewed this as an opportunity and quickly he pounced to take advantage of the women and children and steal the valuables that belonged to David and his men. As a final act of defiance, they burned the city, which God may have allowed so that the Israelites would return to Judah instead of living in the territory of their enemies.

Shock and sadness must have filled the hearts of David and his 600 men, as they had never previously lost a battle. This was a cruel, unexpected turn of events that left them so traumatized that they cried until they had no more tears. Exhaustion, and then anger set in as they faced the reality of their circumstances. Some men even conspired to stone David for getting them into this horrific mess.

Different people respond in different ways when they are greatly distressed. The verb meaning greatly distressed in Hebrew actually means "being pressed into a tight corner, the way a Potter presses clay into a mold"1. The reactions we have to being pressed this tightly will depend on what lies inside of us.

When we are lead with our emotions, we will surely get into trouble because, suddenly, reason and rationality have flown right out of the window. Why these men thought that killing their leader right now would benefit them is surely a mystery. Right now, they needed David even more than they had needed him before this had happened to them.

David knew that the strength and encouragement he needed could only come from the Lord. He ordered Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod so that they could seek the Lord together. When David asked God what to do, God assured him that if he would pursue the enemy that God would go with him and that he would have success. The victory was his for the taking when he had confidence that God would fight the battle for him and with him.

This story paints a good picture for us as believers today as to what to do when we face challenging circumstances where we are tempted to be afraid or to worry. The first point I see is that these specific enemies existed because of previous poor decisions. This makes me think about generational patterns of worry and fear. In order to defeat them, we have to first identify them. As there are varying types and degrees of fear and worry , we must first honestly assess the patterns in our own families and begin to work on them as God gives us the strategies to do so.

We have already been assured in God's Word that the victory is ours. As believers in Christ, we know that Jesus has made us "alive together with Christ, having freely forgiven us all our sins, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross" (Colossians 2:13-15).

We have to make a decision to not let worry and fear dominate our thought patterns. I have found that affirmations help in this process. Some examples of affirmations might include:
                                    *God is my strength and my fortress
                                    *I will focus on positive thoughts
                                    *I will meditate on God's Word
                                    *I will believe what God says and not doubt
                                    *I will trust in God to make a way

When God tells us not to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7), we have to know that He will provide a way for this to be possible for us. While each person's journey will surely differ, there are commonalities to accomplish what God commands us to do. If Jesus made a spectacle of our enemies for us then we definitely have the power and authority to come into agreement with His completed work in our lives.

We must also be honest with ourselves about the reality of the devastations that fear and worry have wreaked in our lives and families. It is not ok to passively tolerate them because they are a cancer that will demand more and more of our lives if we do not intervene. Instead of accepting them as our cross to bear, we must boldly march them up to the cross and nail them to it, never to pick them back up again.

Additionally, when we are "pressed" or "stressed", we must honestly look at the things that are inside of us and also take them to the cross. We cannot excuse our sin as an acceptable response to stress. We must deal with it head on to defeat it once and for all. Thankfully, Jesus forgives all of it and continually reassures us of His love in spite of it.

Like David, our true strength and encouragement can only come from God. He is always willing to graciously give them to us, so if we are not receiving it we must look at the deterrents that prevent us from receiving. Is it distraction? Or discouragement? Or fatigue? Or doubt? These, too, call for honest reflection and attention.

We know that the enemy of our souls continually seeks to " steal, kill, and destroy" our lives, but we also know that Jesus came so that we might live "life to its' fullness" (John10:10). Part of living this abundant life is to accurately assess what has been stolen and to seek God for the strategies to get it back.  When we trust Him and walk in faith, He can and will fight our battles and restore what has been lost!


      "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
                                                           Isaiah 26:3