1 Samuel 30-31, Luke 13:23-35 • Key Verse: 1 Samuel 30:6
A key component of any successful athletic program is strength training. The willing team or
performer must have not only ability but strength and endurance as well. Sometimes we can find
our strength stretched to the limit, leaving us wondering how we can continue.
That must have been David’s feeling when, after an extended time fleeing Saul and fighting the
enemies of Israel, he came home to a devastating situation. Ziklag, the city where David and his
men lived, had been destroyed by fire, the women and children taken captive.
He and the men wept until they had no strength left to weep (30:4). The men even talked of
stoning David (v. 6). When physically and emotionally drained, “David found strength in the
Lord his God” (v. 6). That was his best, if not the only effective, option.
The same is true for us. We find strength in the Lord by turning to His Word. In the Bible we
read of His love for us, His promises given us and His instructions to us. We find strength in the
Lord by turning to Him in prayer. Rather than hold onto our troubles, we can lay them before
God, seeking the help we need at His throne.
We also find strength in the Lord by turning to His people. Remember how Jonathan
strengthened David in the Lord? Others can do the same for us as they remind us of and teach us
from God’s Word, holding our tired arms up in prayer as well.
Look to the Lord for your strength. He strengthened David and will do the same for you.

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in