In 1 Samuel 30, David and his men return from battle to find a different enemy has stolen their families and all they have. They’re so overcome with anguish, the men plan to kill David, because their misery warps their thinking to conclude he must have failed God somehow. “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (v. 6). David didn’t find an angry or distant God. He found a loving God ready to provide him with all he needed to win back his family.
An invasion of fear and heartache doesn’t mean the enemy is in control. It means God has made more than enough love and hope available to beat the snot out of him. When you’re facing a difficult situation, or even a tragedy, don’t let the negativity it radiates keep you from bringing God’s presence to it. Don’t let the enemy keep writing the narrative. You are co-authoring your life with God, and you get to write all the chapter endings.
Despite what the enemy lies to the contrary, you are so powerful. You get to overflow all God has been for you into every situation. Fear, confusion, despair, anger, self-pity, and bitterness have no room to get in because there’s so much of God’s presence in and around you. There never has to be a gap between pain and the love needed to heal it.
