But David strengthened himself in the Lord " I Samuel 30:6b
As David and his men came into Ziklag, back from the army of the Philistines invading Israel, they found that their city was fully burnt down. The Amalekites had invaded and had captured everyone in the city, their wives, sons and daughters. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep (I Samuel 30:4). David was greatly distressed. His two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail had been taken captive by the enemy.
People were full of sorrow that they spoke of stoning David to death. They had just come back from the Philistine army, where they were told that they were not welcome. Perhaps David"s men thought that it was a waste of time and energy. More over it was David"s idea that they go with the Philistine army in the first place. If they had not gone they would have been able to protect their families from the invading Amalekites. In their sorrow and deep distress they were not thinking what they could do at that time, rather they dwelt on the past and came to an irrational thought that they should stone David since it was his fault! Oh, the count of people today who are filled with the same sentiment thinking that their difficulty is always someone else"s fault!
From David"s perspective, it was much easy at that point to give in to self-pity. Here is a man who had to run away from his father"s house, from his wife Michal, from his beloved country and from his good friend Jonathan because of no fault of his own. He might have thought it was just as in the past it was happening to him again. He might have thought, "I am not pleasing to Saul, I am being driven and all bad things seem to happen to me only. May be that the Lord has no pleasure in me and is against me. Now my own men who have seen so many victories under my leadership are against me. I have also lost my beloved wives. Why should I live and prolong my agony! I should resign to my fate and die!" Praise God that he did not do that. Praise God that instead, he strengthened himself in the Lord so that he can be an effective leader in the time of trouble.
Self pity is one of Satan"s most powerful weapons with which he attacks the children of God. Satan causes people to take their focus away from the Lord and focus on themselves and their own misery and their own situation resulting in tragic consequences. Self pity is dangerous and very destructive. Saul was filled with self pity when he heard the people call out, "Saul has killed his thousands and David ten thousands!" He focused on himself and thought that David was out to get him and remove his kingdom from him. His self pity is obvious in the statement he made to his servants. He said, "All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day." (I Samuel 22:8). He was so sorry for himself and was sad that no one else felt sorry for him. That is self pity at the peak. That is self pity in its devastating power. Are you taken into such self pity on yourselves? Pick yourselves up today and get out of that mentality. Stay your course with the Word of God and in your relationship with God and proclaim that you are victorious because you have a God who cares for you and he is there to take care of you and remove your sorrows. Hallelujah!
Elijah in self pity was ready to end his own life. He had just had a great victory against the prophets of Baal and had killed four hundred and fifty of Baal"s prophets on Mount Carmel. He had seen the hand of the Lord in action when a down pouring of rain was received after a famine for three years and six months according to the word of God. After that victory as he was pursued by Jezebel, he ran for his life, driven in self pity. As he came to the mountain of the Lord, I Kings 19:14, he said to the Lord, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." In his self pity he forgot to remember that Obadiah had saved many prophets of the Lord when king Ahaz had tried to kill them. God had to tell him that he still had seven thousand people in Israel who had not gone on to Baal"s side. Self pity caused Elijah to pray for his death and the end of his ministry. Have you been praying like that asking God that He would take you away? That is self-pity with its tragic strong hold. Today, get out of that bonds and break free for the Lord!
Paul had to go through so many trials for the Lord. But he never gave in to self pity. He had his head held high, proclaiming the master who called him out of darkness. In II Corinthians 11:23-28, we read the ordeal that he had to put up with. "" in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness " besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all churches." He had every right to be in self pity, if any one has the right to it. But he was bold and courageous and was victorious. We serve the same God that Paul served and the same God is there to help us too!
Are you going through failures and road blocks and persecution that are forcing you to wallow in self pity? Are you resigning yourselves to your "fate" and have stopped fighting? Today, pick yourselves up. Job had to break free from his self pity and had to pray for the deliverance of his friends before he himself was delivered and healed. When you come out of your self pity and start doing what the Lord wants you to do, you will see the blessing of the Lord God and happiness and joy in your family. You will see that people do cheer for you as you run towards your goal. Hallelujah to the Lord!
Prayer: Precious heavenly Father! I pray for deliverance from self pity. Help me O Lord not to look at the situations and wallow in self pity, but to focus on you and be victorious. In the name of your son and our savior Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.