Encouraging Ourselves in the Lord

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13 It looked as if David had lost everything, His city had been burned, His wives were missing, and all those who followed him turned against him and were ready to stone him. He was in great distress, but he made a choice. He made the choice to encourage himself in the Lord instead of giving up. I’ve often wondered how he encouraged himself in the Lord. When I meditated on this, I received a mental picture of exactly what David did that day when all seemed to be lost.

David was a psalmist, and he used his songs to encourage himself. I believe he always traveled with his small harp near his side, and on that day when all seemed lost, he took his harp from his belongings and began to play and sing. If you go to Israel, you will see the David harps being made today. This same harp was designed specifically for the musicians in the temple. David sang songs like: “Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul” (Ps. 25), “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24), “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Ps. 23), “I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies” (Ps. 18) and many other of his psalms.

We can also learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord. Ephesians 5:18-21 tells us how we are to stay filled with the Spirit, and much of those instructions have to do with singing: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

When we do the things listed above, we will keep our spiritual tanks full. The rest of this story is that all David thought he had lost was restored. Today if your circumstances seem overwhelming, overwhelm the discouragement by singing and making melody in your heart. Soon encouragement by the Holy Spirit will envelop you, and you will see how God is doing something even in the midst of difficult times.

Lord, help me to keep my spiritual tank full today. When I think I am about to run out of fuel, help me remember to encourage myself by singing songs, spiritual songs, hymns and psalms.

READ: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:54-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26