Refresh and Restore

“1 Sam 16:12 And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”

“1 Sam. 30:1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep”

“6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,2 each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. “

I was reading about the journey of David between the time of his anointing, the promise given, and the fulfillment. There was quite a bit of battle, heartache, loneliness and exhaustion. It seemed as if his character was tested, his faith was run through a sifter and crushing was a lifestyle not a moment. However, in all of that, as painful as it was, God was refining a shepherd into a king. God loved David too much to give him a promise that great, prematurely. David would learn to take rejected men of society and cultivate them into mighty men of valor. He would learn that in his brokeness, if he would seek the Lord, the Lord would speak. The Lord would give divine wisdom, the Lord would fight for him, and ultimately all of His strength would be found in the Lord.

David got to that place because his faith was tested. When everyone left, all looked to be lost, no one was cheering him on, David went to the source of his strength and experienced refeshing. A broken David would go before the Lord having lost everything only to see the Lord restore all that was taken, including the spoil. Appearances can be deceptive, and in times that look hopeless we must anchor ourselves in the promises of Lord. No matter the look of the situation, you can trust that God’s word will stand. So anchored in the Lord, you can trust He is able to do exactly as he promised.