The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Samuel 30:1-6, “Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the

Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and

carried them off and went their way.

3 And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons

and their daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in

them to weep.

5 Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal

the Carmelite.

6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were

embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the

LORD his God.”

Sometimes it is severely difficult to understand the ways of Old Testament personalities. Take David, for example. Almost from the time he first met King Saul, he was on the run to keep the king from killing him. Yes, it can easily be attributed to the evil spirit that plagued Saul’s life; but it was much more than that. David had only about 600 men, who traveled with him –men of war! They often went without sleep, without food, even without water! What’s more (if we need more!), just about every pagan nation was out to kill David.

On the occasion of our verses above, they discovered that the Amalekites had devastated the city of Ziklag, set it on fire, and had carried away captive all of the women and children. Do hardened soldiers cry? If you have read the verses above (if you haven’t, do it now!!), you know that David and his men “wept until there was no strength in them to weep.” Yes, even hardened soldiers cry! But David’s problem was not erased by tears. His own people talked about stoning him because of what had happened to their loved ones. How inconsiderate even close friends can sometimes be!!!

What was David to do? The last sentence of verse six reads, “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” Subsequent verses tell us how he did it, but the message to us has already been laid out. When the worst possible situation looms angrily before us –when we survey our surroundings and find there is no way out—we strengthen ourselves in the the LORD. But how is that accomplished?

David’s life had already been committed to the LORD. That fact, however, did not hinder the adversity of the situation. David already knew the LORD was with him. Our LORD is with us when we have committed our lives to Him in salvation. We further strengthen ourselves when we read and study the Bible every day. We strengthen ourselves when we spend quality time with the LORD in earnest prayer. And we must cover everything in the cloak of faith! If you needed to borrow something, from whom would you borrow it? Yes, from a friend. But the friendship has to precede the borrowing. So it is with Christ. First, you must be saved; then you must faithfully trust in His closeness and help. Try all that on Jesus! You’ll be amazed at what He will do to erase your worries and depression!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”