1 Samuel 30

“Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.” (1 Samuel 30:4).

Crying is an interesting thing. Sometimes it is shameful to cry and sometimes it is valiant. Sometimes you have no other choice but to cry because you are too overwhelmed by what happened. Sometimes crying prevents other negative emotions from being released. Here we say David and his men in tears. Why were they in tears? Because they had just returned home to find their entire city destroyed. All their children were gone. All the wives had been taken. Though the text tells us what happened, keep in mind, David had no clue what had happened to the missing people. Therefore this verse tells us that they wept until they had no more power to weep. They cried hard, because they did not know what to do.

“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6).

David is sitting there. The people have turned against him. He had lost his family. What does he do? David goes and finds strength in the Lord. Wow! Have you ever been hurt? Has something ever caused you to wonder what was happening? Has anything ever devastated you? David found strength in the Lord. He sought the Lord. He was revived in the Lord.

David asked the Lord whether he would find his family and the rest of the captives. The Lord answers that he would so David just goes. Think about this. He did not know where to go, he just knew he had to go somewhere. Him and the 600 men start marching. They march and march until 200 of the men can go no further. David understands and allows them to stay with the supplies. Just a little bit farther and David finds one lone Egyptian from whom David finds his answers. One battle later and David has destroyed this army and retrieved everything which was lost and then some.

Now rewind. Imagine if David had never found strength in the Lord. Imagine if the story ended that David and his men wept until they had no more strength. What a sad testimony and story that would be! Yet David found strength in the Lord, and that changed everything.

Once again, it is okay to cry. It is okay to be shocked. It is okay to not know what to do. However, if you stay in that funk and do not move on, it is not okay. Find strength in the Lord. Have Him restore you. Have Him give you the strength to finish the race.