He was able to strengthen himself. You can strengthen yourself by praying in tongues; by confessing the word of God; by praising the Lord, for the things He's done; and thanking the Lord for the way He's helped you in the past; remembering what God has done. But friend, if you don't strengthen yourself, what are you going to do?
It's wonderful to have people around us who can stand with us. It's important to have supportive relationships, but there's a part of your life which is the secret part, when it's just you and God. Will you lean upon Him? When you've lent upon Him, He will then tell you what you need to do.
3) It says: “then David enquired of the Lord”. After he had got back into a place of confidence and encouragement, then he was able to say: Lord, give me some wisdom here, what should I do? Do you want me to follow them? Do you want me to leave it; or shall I pursue? What would you want to do? Get in your car, go down there and find these people, and get your family and your goods back?
He said: Lord, You show me what I should do. That's tremendous trust, to stop the natural impulse of wanting to go out and smash these people up, and to ask God: what do You want me to do? And the Lord said, very clearly: pursue, overtake, and you will recover all!
He had a word, a mandate, that gave him faith to be able to shift all these leaders - to stand up and begin to change that circumstance around. What changed it was. in the midst of a crisis, a man knew how to lean on God, and get a word from God to shift that situation around.
What I've observed over many years is, when Christians face pressure, they cry; they stop praying; they stop reading; they watch television, and they drink. They go to the wrong places, but often they don't do the very one thing that would get them through, which is go into the secret place, and pour their heart out to God - lean on the Lord, and remind Him of His promises. And then listen; Lord, what should I do?
I can remember being in many different situations, and I didn't know what to do. We came to the place of grieving, and I waited on the Lord, and then He gave me a word of exactly what to do. I followed it to the letter, and the whole situation turned around. I can remember there was a season in the church when the Spirit of God had moved, and everything was in turmoil and upheaval, because issues in people's lives had come up. Foundations of the church were being shaken, and what we'd built was having a good shake. I remember weeping before the Lord, and He told me very clearly, He said: don't try and fight this battle. He said: lean upon Me, and learn to rest in Me, and I will direct you exactly what to do. And now you see today where we are, we've come way out of that whole situation. We're in a whole different place now. You see, God can do it!
This is what made David a great man - in the time of rejection and disappointment, he didn't do what everyone else did. They just wept, and then wanted to find someone to blame; but he went into the presence of God, and found an answer.
God is looking for people just like that: Davids in the heart; young men and women who, when the pressure is on, have already established a track record of coming into the presence of God. They know how to pour their heart out, and how to stand on God's word. They've got a history of growing behind them, of past victories, and right now they're poised, ready for their greatest challenge.
Within seven years of this battle, David became king over the whole of Israel, and all the promises of God began to be fulfilled in his life. You never know that the crisis you're facing now is not the decision point of whether you take hold of God's promise, or whether you let it go. Be followers; don't be lazy! Don't be a slacker! Don't quit, don't give up, but be followers of those, who through trust in the living God, and steady endurance, and doing what God says to do, obtain the promises.