The story of David and Ziklag comes from 1st Samuel 30 in the Bible. It is a powerful moment in David’s life that shows us leadership under pressure, emotional resilience, and trust in God during a deep crisis.
When we look at the summary of this story, it focuses on how the people reacted when their families were taken:
The record is that David and his men had been living in the city of Ziklag, which had been given to him by Achish, a Philistine king.
David and his 600 men were away from Ziklag for a few days, preparing to go to battle, but they were sent back.
The reason David and his men were sent back to Ziklag was because: The Philistine commanders didn’t trust him to fight with them. They feared that David might turn on them in battle. The commander felt that if David had fought against Israel, he would’ve been fighting his own people and possibly even against Saul and Jonathan. So, he sent them back.
We must understand that David wasn’t just a leader; he was a man in transition. He was anointed, but not yet crowned. He was on the run from King Saul, living among enemies, and trying to survive. Ziklag had become his temporary refuge. But even that place of safety was not secure.
When David and his men returned to Ziklag, they found the city had been burned to the ground by the Amalekites. Even worse: they found out that all of their wives, their sons, and daughters had been taken captive.
Their city burned to the ground.
Their families taken captive.
Their hearts crushed by grief, and to top it all off their loyalty is shaken, even his own men wanted to stone him.
No one was killed, but everything was gone.
They survived the attack, but lost everything they owned.
Not a single life was lost, but everything they held dear was gone.
Lives were spared, but their world had been stripped bare.
The enemy took everything leaving them nothing.
So the Bible said in vs 4, that David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
In their crying, the Bible also said that the people turned against David. The grief was so overwhelming that David’s own men turned on him. They blamed David for what happened.
The Bible says they even talked about stoning him because they were so bitter over the loss of their families.
This story shows that even strong leaders face moments of crisis and betrayal.
The people who were once loyal to David were ready to kill him.
Have you ever been there? The ones that were once your friend, your bff, is now your arch enemy
The ones that you help the most, turn their backs on you.
Wait a minute, I’m talking about the ones that say they loved you the most, and they can’t do without out you, the ones that you pray for, the ones you care for, the one that you will give your lives for, and every time you turn around they have an attitude, they are not talking to you, everything that you do is wrong, they are never wrong and are always right. I wish I had some real people, up in here.
I know that they might be sitting next to you, and if you can’t say amen, just wink your eye.
His friends, his running buddies, his battle buddies turned on him, but David turned to God, instead of giving in to fear or anger David turned to the Lord.
Let me drop this in someone spirit this morning. It does not matter what they say about you, turn to the Lord.
When people question your path, trust the One who ordered your steps.
When people talk bad about you. Their doubt doesn’t cancel God’s calling, stay close to the Lord. Their affirmation doesn’t disqualify your purpose.
Let them talk, your strength comes from the one who never changes.
It doesn’t mean that it won’t bother you sometimes, but you must look to the hills from whence cometh your help.
The point here is: Even Leaders Get Broken
They wept until they had no strength left to weep. v. 4
This wasn’t just sadness, but it was soul-deep despair. David, who had slain giants and led warriors, was now face-to-face with the possibility of total loss.
Here is the Context: No matter how strong we are or how much faith we have, there are moments in life when we’re brought to our knees.
Here is a nugget. In crisis, blame looks for a target, and often, leaders carry the weight. Understand, these were the same men David had trained, fought beside, and led. Now, they saw him as the reason for their suffering.
Sometimes the people closest to you, will misunderstand you in your hardest moments.
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.” That’s in vs 6.
But instead of panicking or lashing out, David did something powerful. Instead of losing his mind, instead of jumping off of a cliff, and instead of being mad at everyone else, David found strength in the Lord his God.” –
1 Samuel 30:6 (last part)
He encouraged himself in the Lord.
He sought God’s guidance through the priest and asked, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
God told him to pursue, and God promised him that he would succeed, and have the victory.
David and his men chased down the Amalekites:
They found them, defeated them in battle, and recovered everything that had been taken, and nothing was missing.
I’m here: When Everything Around You Seems To Be Falling Apart – The Story of David at Ziklag should give you some hope.
David was greatly distressed, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
When People Turn on You. Encourage Yourself in the Lord
When people can’t strengthen you, God can. David encouraged himself, not by pretending everything was okay, but by: holding to God’s
unchanging hand.
And when he held on, God Gave Direction & Victory
In vs 8 God said Pursue them,” He answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” – v. 8
David sought God, and God gave him a clear answer.
They pursued the enemy.
They fought and won.
They recovered everything.
Nothing was missing.
And nothing was lost.
In vs 18 David recovered all.
And those of you that feel likes you are in a “Ziklag moment” where everything seemed lost?
Here’s how you should respond.
You need to call on the Lord and say, Lord, when I feel overwhelmed, and sometimes I fell alone, but I’m reminded of David.
Lord Help me not to give in to fear or bitterness. Teach me to encourage myself in You. Even when people fail me, I know you never will. Lord please guide me, strengthen me, and help me recover all that has been lost.
I’m reminded of a story about an old Preacher man, who had served faithfully in ministry for nearly two decades. He wasn’t famous. He didn’t pastor a megachurch. But he was a faithful father, a loving husband, and a man of deep prayer. One day, while away preaching at a revival, Jackson got a call that would shake his world.
They said preacher your house is on fire.
By the time he arrived back in his town, everything he had owned—his home, his memories, even his family’s keepsakes—was nothing but ashes.
It is said that His wife and children had barely escaped the flames.
He stood there, watching the smoke still rising from the rubble, tears streaming down his face, wondering, God, why? I’ve served You. I’ve obeyed You. Why would You let this happen to me?
People who once praised his faith began whispering behind his back. Some even suggested that maybe he had done something wrong, and that God must be punishing him.
But, one night, alone in a borrowed room, old man Jackson opened his old, half-burnt Bible that was saved by his daughter who grabbed it on the way out of the house.
The Bible fell opened to 1st Samuel 30—the story of David at Ziklag. As Jackson read the story of how David was distressed, but yet David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” He fell to his knees and began to do just that.
He said:
God, if You allowed the fire to take everything, then I trust you can give me back more than I lost. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when—but I choose to believe You.
At that moment things changed for him. He knew that this fire was not the end, it was only the beginning of a new testimony.
And right now, Pastor Jackson and his family not only have a new home, but his testimony has traveled farther than his sermons ever could. He now tells the worlds about a God who can.
He’s the God who can open doors no man can shut, and shut doors no man can open.
He can make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert—because nothing is too hard for Him.
He can turn your mourning into dancing, and your sorrow into strength.
He can speak one word, and break chains that have held you for years.
He can lift you from the lowest place, and seat you in the presence of kings.
He can take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for your good.
He can restore what was lost, repair what was broken, and redeem what was wasted.
He can calm the storm around you—or calm you in the middle of it.
He can take a closed door and turn it into a divine detour that leads to your destiny.
He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or imagine—because He is not limited by what limits you.
