We see what people turn to when the pressure's on. Some turn to the television, or the internet; they start to smoke, or drink. Where do you go when the pressure's on?
It says where David went, and that's what made him unique. In the midst of pressure, when it looked like even God had let him down, and there was no person to support him, it says: “he strengthened himself in the Lord his God”. He came into the presence of God, and he did some things. There are certain things that he must have done, in order to become stronger. He strengthened himself, so he did things that enabled his whole inner life to become filled with strength, to the point where he was able to then seek God for what to do next.
Our normal tendency is to be overwhelmed with emotions, but I will show you some things that he must have done...
Psalm 142:1-5 – “I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour my complaint and declare before Him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they secretly set a snare for me.
I look on my right hand and see, there is no one who cares for me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul. And I cried out to You, O Lord: I said You are my refuge. My portion in the land of the living”
He reaches out, and he pours his soul out the Lord.
Psalm 138:3 – “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.”
1) The first thing he did, after he had cried all his tears out, he went and poured out his heart to the Lord. Sometimes we just shrink our emotions down on the inside, and bottle everything up, and become like a raging thing. He went before the Lord, and he just began to weep and weep and weep, and poured out his concern - his fear, his loss; and then he said: Lord, You are my refuge.
In this, you get a key how to deal with stuff that's tough. You must learn to acknowledge your feelings, and let your feelings of your soul go out, and express to the Lord. David never tried to tough it out. He opened his heart, and he poured out his complaints, his sorrows, his difficulties. He was overwhelmed, but the first thing he did was acknowledge how overwhelmed he was, and let his heart just weep before the Lord.
Then once he had shared how he felt, he began to arise and declare: Lord, You are my refuge. You are the place I go. You are the strength of my life. My life is in You. My strength is in You. My hope is in You. He began to declare his relationship with God, and the promises of God. Lord, You said you would bring me to the stage where I would be the king. I believe Your promise to me. I believe Your word - and he would take the words of God, and bring those words of God back before him.
2) He began to declare the promises of God. He began to declare God's faithfulness. He reminded God of what He'd said, and strength began to come back into his spirit. It's not what the people around you are doing; it's what God says, and God is doing. God is faithful, no matter what is happening.
David had learned to lean on the Lord = express his feelings, express his needs, and begin to reach out, and lean upon the Lord. When David got to this point, he had a whole track record of times when he had lent on the Lord, and God had delivered him out of a mess, so he could go back and remind himself: God, I remember when You delivered me out of that. That was great! Man, I was overwhelmed then, but boy, You got me out of that! You got me out of a whole heap of things, so I'm confident You will get me out of this one.