*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*
*A TROUBLED SOUL IS A TROUBLED SPIRIT.*
*Scripture Treasure.*
1 Sam 30: 1, 5, 8, 10-11, 13-19
v1 *And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;*
, v5 *And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.*
v8 *And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all*
v10 *But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.*
v11 *And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;*
v13 *And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.*
v14 *We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.*
v15 *And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.*
v16 *And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.*
v17 *And David smote them from the twilight....*
v18 *And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.*
v19
*Insight and Highlight.*
When your spirit is calm, you will be able to pray. When you pray, God delivers your prey to you.
*Scripture Commentaries.*
David's Ziklag was attacked and burned.
Every man's *....wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken.*
There are a few things we can learn from David's reaction to the raid on Ziklag.
First, though we see how troubled his soul was (1 Sam 30:4), we see the power of how David encouraged himself and how this helped him to make a good decision.
In 1 Sam 30:6, we see that despite all the troubles from within and outside
*....David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.*
David, encouraging himself, may also be interpreted as his moment of respite. A moment of calm and possibly a careful thought of what his next line of action may be.
We can never make good decisions when our souls are troubled.
This act of encouragement must have led David to inquire of the Lord.
When your spirit is calm, you will be able to pray.
A troubled soul, when badly managed, can stir up a violent spirit in us.
Prov 15:18 says when we are angry, we can stir up strife and contention.
A troubled soul will stir up strife without thinking or seeking calm in God. David, however, sought God in his anger and distress.
The bible shows us that David was a warrior. One would not be surprised if he took up arms immediately against the Amalekites, but one of his great qualities was his love for God.
A troubled soul needs God in order to avoid a troubled spirit.
This story tells us that when we sit, ponder, and calm our souls, we will achieve great things in times of distress.
Elisha called for minstrels, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Where was the Spirit of the Lord before?
He must have been absent from him probably because of his tone of anger seen in his remark to King Ahab in the presence of Jehoshaphat.
The scripture says *And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.*
He was a man known of the Spirit, and little or no mention is made that he had to do something to bring the hand of the Lord upon him, 2 Kgs 3:14-15.
David, encouraging himself, motivated him to inquire of the Lord.
Second, as a result of David's prayer, God brought a man who would help him to locate the Amalekites.
In their pursuit, they found an Egyptian in 1 Sam 30: 14 who told David that he was one of those who *"....burned Ziklag with fire.*
Coming in contact with this Egyptian made David's pursuit easy.
Every human being is triume. This means we are made with a body, soul, and spirit
When you are troubled, your body, soul and spirit are troubled.
When these are troubled, we can not commune with God.
We must do everything within our ability to encourage communing with God.
Are you facing insurmountable challenges?
Remember, a troubled soul brings a troubled spirit.
A lively soul will bring a lively spirit!
Start by encouraging yourself in the Lord as David did.
Then, pray as David did.
When we pray, our spirit is joined with God's Spirit. The Spirit of God brings answered prayers, and God brings our prey to us effortlessly as He did for David.
*Remorse corner.*
Though the world around you may seem falling, though perverse tongue may crush your spirit, let God give you a pleasant tongue to speak a word of life into your situation and He will restore and revive you.
*Call to Word action.*
Prov 15:4 *The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.*
*The Christian clarion duty.*
If your soul is troubled, your spirit will be troubled. When your spirit is troubled, God's Spirit can not communicate with you.
*Prayer.*
Lord, help me to receive comfort in my body, soul, and spirit come what may. Revive my body, soul, and spirit. Give me the grace to call on you and receive help in Jesus name.
Good morning all and have a blessed day.
God bless you.
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