Encouraged in the Lord!

We usually start with praise and worship, but Emma phoned us with such severe toothache, for some days, during which she has been unable to get a dentist. So we prayed for her as a fellowship immediately. Michelle’s daughter, Lisa, had lost her Nan during the week, and was understandably in grief, and so we prayed for her too. 

Connie gave a short testimony, and Wendy L read from Joshua 1, where the people of Israel had vowed commitment. And yet they had failed so many times before. A lesson to learn – our God looks for reliability.

Praise,  worship, several very ‘to the point’ scriptures from Frank, 2 words of knowledge from Bob, prayer for the sick, encouragement from Barry H, and Shirlene led us in communion.

We looked at 1 Samuel 30:1-6. After faithfully serving Saul and serving God, David is exiled by Saul, and at Ziklag, has his wives and possessions stolen, and his home destroyed. His men speak of stoning him. 

Most of us go through times of loss, grief, heartbreak, despair, etc in this life. How do we handle it? How did David?

David ‘encouraged himself in the Lord’. What did he actually do, and what can we? Looking at the psalms in general, there are at least 3 things David did,

1. He praised God, whether he felt like it or not. ‘Praise the Lord, O my soul’ (Ps.103:1). He spoke to his soul, to himself, and praised God. He sang often. When he did, there was victory.
2. He had discipline in his life, coming to the Lord ‘morning, evening, and noon’, (Ps.55:16-19), praising Him 7 times a day (Ps.119: 164-165). Be disciplined in your spiritual walk when things are going well, and you’ll have the structure to see you through when things go badly.
3. Faced with Goliath, David recalled how he’d overcome a bear and a lion. Now he could look back on overcoming Goliath. He was encouraged.

The result? Chasing the enemy, routing them, and a restoration of all that was lost.

Next meeting is Thursday at Catfield for prayer.

Next Sunday, David Adams is guest speaker, followed by lunch.