What To Do When A Crisis Comes
I Samuel 30
How do you tend to respond to a Crisis? tragedy? bad news?
One day not too long ago I was coming out of store and I saw a man getting out of his van who had no legs. He was transitioning to a wheel chair - apparently his legs had been amputated - perhaps while serving in Iraq – and yet he was laughing with his 3 kids who were with him. His attitude was amazing...
What kind of a response do you usually have to a crisis?
The crisis might be:
*the loss of a job *loss of retirement funds *cancer
*a grand-kid gets AIDS *your spouse has been unfaithful
*your girlfriend drops you like a hot rock
*your parents divorce *a good friend turns against you
*a car accident takes a daughter’s life
*someone molests one of your kids
*a terrorist attack kills someone you love
How do we handle the pain-filled-crises of life?
The message of this Book offers great help when life gets tough. In I Samuel 30 we get a snapshot of how David handled one of the toughest times in his life.
If you face no crisis now - PTL!
Then Prep yourself for the future – or Help someone else…
This event took place roughly 1000 years before Jesus was born.
David is not yet King. Though God had promised him through the prophet Samuel that someday he would be King, circumstances were making it look as though that promise might never happen.
• Samuel had died & Saul was King
• Saul was a miserable man because he was out of sync with God controlled by fear & jealousy.
Chapter 17 – David killed Goliath – man was he a Rock Star!
18 – all the accolades made Saul Jealous of David
19 – Saul tries to kill David & the threats go on not for weeks or month but for years…
24 – In one situation, David could have killed Saul while he was sleeping but instead let him live
The following chapters show David on the run – hiding out and in fact some 600 men who were outcasts and outlaws of Saul’s kingdom, had joined him. David organized this group of misfits into a fighting force called “David’s Mighty Men.” It was a rag-tag group but it was all he had...
The stress and pressure of all this was taking its toll. In chapter 27 David finally reached what he thought was the end of his rope. In desperation, he left Israel and defected to the army of his former enemy, the Philistines - unbelievable. He was looking for a place where he could be safe from Saul. Through a strange arrangement with the King of Gath – which is where Goliath came from – David begins to fight alongside the enemies of Israel when they battled other enemies. On one occasion, he was nearly forced to be part of an attack on his own people in a raid on Judah.
That’s when the crisis hit!
David decided to return to Ziklag in Philistia where he had left his family and the families of his men…
That’s where we pick up this story…
Aphek is about 20 miles North of Jerusalem
Ziklag is about 40 miles South of Jerusalem
60 Miles- 3 Day Journey
30:1-3
Now this is a Crisis!
What should we do when a Crisis comes?
We Can Do What Most People Do:
1. React with Despair 30:4
This is probably the most common response to such a crisis that there is. Who hasn’t, at one point or another, “lost it” emotionally in a time of extreme distress?
Some people just freak out. Others are dumbfounded. Some zone-out…they withdraw into their own personal dark cave. They don’t talk – they don’t respond – they are over-whelmed by Despair!
Psalm 88:2-9a
I suppose that our initial response is not the most telling or most important – but it’s how we respond later that is so crucial.
• You see the key is to move beyond Despair
• Beyond the hopeless feelings
• Beyond the “throw-in-the-towel” give-up mentality!
We need to allow the Lord to help us get a grip so we can go on. We know that even Jesus was extremely distressed in Gethsemane- sweating - as it were - great drops of blood! He asked that the Cup of suffering be removed – Crucifixion is one of the most painful ways to die!
Jesus was Distressed!
But He didn’t stay there!
He went on to do God’s Will!
We need to move from Despair to Determination!!
Determination that God’s Will and His Ways will not be defeated just because of some crisis that one of His kids is going through!!
Many people React with Despair and then either remain under its control or they act out and cover up its damage with odd behavior and sometimes, blatant rebellion against God. Reacting with Despair is not the way to go!
Another response is to:
2. Look for Someone to Blame 30:6a
It’s all David’s fault.
He’s the Leader. He should have known better.
He’s the one who led us into the land of the Philistines!
*Never mind the fact that each of them willingly chose to
follow David.
*Never mind the fact that each of these guys were already misfits and outlaws & outcasts… but it’s David who gets all the blame!! Of course- blaming someone else makes us feel better!
Some blame God & then distance themselves from Him!
Or maybe it’s the other way around…they distance themselves from God and then Blame Him when things don’t go their way! It’s one or the other!
3. Get Angry and Bitter 30:6b
Can you identify with this? Ever been guilty of uncontrolled anger? Ever been controlled by bitterness?
What happened was tragic! They didn’t know what the Amalekites were doing to their family members… they were stressed out, worried, angry and bitter!
In a crisis, we can do all these things and we’ll find little opposition to our actions…
But ask yourself: When we’ve despaired and blamed others and have expressed our anger and bitterness… are we any better off?
Has the Crisis been resolved?
• The Despair hasn’t helped!
• The Blame Game hasn’t changed anything!
• The anger hasn’t solved the problem!
Oh we might “feel” better for a while and the expression of our anger can help us process our emotions…but it doesn’t fix the bigger problem.
These responses, though common, don’t magically make the Crisis disappear!
*Suppose these soldiers had given full vent to their anger…
*Suppose they had picked up stones & killed David…
Would it have made a difference?
Would it have brought back their loved ones?
Of course not…
When we’re in a crisis we can do all the things these men did and continue to suffer… OR…
We Can Do What David Did
1. Depend on God’s Strength instead of our own.
30:6c
Why is it that a crisis will drive one person toward God for help and another person away from God?
Because some people treat their relationship with God like a crutch that helps them hobble through life - - - instead of living like God is their Partner in Life to help them grow and change and mature. . Did you get that? (repeat it)
How did you respond in the last crisis you faced?
Did you turn to the Lord for strength or depend on yourself?
When will we learn that in our moments of greatest personal strength we are still weak in comparison to Almighty God?
David knew he needed what only God could offer!
He knew he must strengthen himself in the Lord.
Now catch this: David initiated this…if we sit around waiting for God to strengthen us, we may wait in vain!
We are the one needing to act…to do what God is encouraging us to do. If you are in the midst of a crisis
right now, it is a great time to strengthen yourself in the Lord.
How do we depend on God for His strength?
a. Ask for it – request it – it’s called Prayer!
b. Agree with God that our strength isn’t enough, and
c. Admit that we are Weak - it’s called Humility!
Also, if we do what David did in his crisis, we will…
2. Seek the Lord’s Guidance and Refuse to Resort to Our Own Solutions. 30:7
The “ephod” was a priestly garment that some say looked like an apron, it was used during OT times when one was seeking the Lord’s will. While it isn’t clear just how this was done, it always was associated with seeking God’s guidance.
What guidance did David need?
He needed to know where his enemies were…
Where those scumbags were that kidnapped their families...
• No Spy satellites to pick-up troop movements
• No GPS to track them
Vs. 8
They needed God’s help - they Sought it and Received it!
30:9-11
He turns out to be a salve of one of the Amalekite soldiers
that David was looking for – Coincidence? – I don’t think so…he led them to were the enemy troops were and David’s mighty men defeated them and rather quickly!
They sought God’s Guidance -
And He came thru for them!
Today we don’t have an ephod to put on…but we certainly can seek the Lord for His guidance.
How can we do that?
a. Pray
b. Read God’s Word
c. Seek Godly Counsel
*He has encouraged us to “cast all our anxieties on Him.”
*He has also promised to answer our prayers.
*We can go to His written Word for guidance and to those
we know who have followed God in times of crisis.
*Perhaps the worst thing we can do is to depend on our own
judgment.
*Stress tends to distort reality…but God’s Wisdom is never
distorted!
Having passed the time when his emotions were ruling him, David is now back to making decisions based on what God is saying to his spirit rather than how he feels.
I believe that if we look to God for guidance He will bring us thru our crisis. David’s example is a good one.
3. Remember God’s Grace to us & Extend it to
Others!
This may not sound as important as the other 2…but it is!! Don’t miss the significance of this!
This passage says that David and his men not only defeated the enemy but they got all of their family members back along with all of the plunder – their valuable belongings, their gold and animals.
On their way back to Ziklag there’s a confrontation…
30:19-25
God’s Grace is to be Accepted,Experienced and then Given away!
If we don’t give away what God given to us He may take away from what we have received...
The Scripture says:
• it is more blessed to give than to receive
• if we don’t forgive others God may not continue to forgive us
• if we don’t express mercy to others it may be withheld from us
If we are unwilling to express Grace to others who struggle, then we have forgotten what God has done for us and are guilty of taking advantage of others.
A Blind Horse
In a farmer’s fenced field are 2 horses –
• one larger than the other
• one with normal eyesight - the other totally blind
Out of love for the blind horse, the old farmer keeps him around. The good sighted smaller horse wears a small bell on its bridle…so everywhere she walks the blind horse can hear her. It doesn’t take long for the blind horse to find its way to the water trough or to the feed…it just listens to its friend by following the sound of the bell.
When we face the huge crises that life sometimes throws at us, we need a bell to lead us to nourishment and safety. That bell at times is the Holy Spirit, it’s the voice of God, it’s the written Word, or a friend that God sends our way. And don’t you know that sometimes that bell is us – as we help others to find God’s strength and will.
James 4 –
• God opposes the proud but gives Grace to the Humble
• Submit yourselves to God
• Humble yourselves before the Lord & He will lift you up
Guess what happened next? In the final chapter of this book, Saul dies and David is made King!!
That finally happened because David learned to follow God’s Heart –
That happened because David learned to lean on God in a crisis!
That happened because David responded correctly during his greatest crisis!
PRAY
