Sometimes, we experience our greatest attacks, when we are closest to our calling. I believe everyone experiences prolonged periods of waiting in certain areas where we see others seem to get breakthroughs easily. You are not alone. King David received the promise of God that he would be King. But after that, his life became so discouraging that he even had to leave the land of Israel to escape the violence of King Saul (1 Samuel 27:1).

The Danger of Discouragement

Discouragement can come from trusting in God for continual deliverance. Trusting in God brings hope. But trusting in God continually for the same thing wears a person out. Disappointment can do more damage to you than the devil if you allow it.

This point was one of the lowest points of David’s life, spiritually. We hear no Psalms, no revelations, or any mention of David’s relationship with God or spiritual growth. He became a mercenary, under an uncircumcised Philistine leader. Discouragement, if not properly handled, can drive you to do worse things than your enemy could do to you. King Saul could not make David appear mentally ill and join the enemy’s side but disappointment and discouragement did. Then it got even worse for David.

David Strengthened Himself In The Lord

“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”

1 Samuel 30:6

When David lost everything, he didn’t ask God for direction first. David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

In the last days, the book of Daniel warns us about the strategy of the devil.

“And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High.”

Daniel 7:25

When the devil cannot knock you out, he will wear you out. He wears you out through your continual waiting for God’s breakthrough. If you are not careful, the devil will present a short cut or an easier way to live your life. But the easy way does not lead to God’s breakthrough. The Bible says broad is the way that leads to destruction.

There is a temptation in desperation to seek instruction from God on what to do next. Out of desperation, Saul went to a witch to try to hear God. He wanted to hear God. You must understand that to hear God you have to get near God. God wants to give you strength before He give you solution. When you find strength, you find strategy and solution.

How do we find our strength? There are five things we can do to strengthen ourselves in the Lord.

1. Sing to God

When you are depleted, your thoughts and feelings cannot be trusted, your circumstances will lie to you and everything seems crazy. You might not even feel like singing but something happens in the spirit when you start singing to God. If you are too weak to sing, turn on worship music and just let it enter your ears. God who is holy, inhabits the praises of His people. His presence will come to you at that moment and change your atmosphere and perspective. When everything is going to chaos, if you want to be strong in the Lord, learn to sing to Him.

2. Speak In Tongues

Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:2 that one who speaks in tongues edifies himself, echoing the words of Isaiah to the people of Israel.

“With stammering lips and another tongue, He will speak to this people, to whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”; but they would not hear it.”

Isaiah 28:11-12

We are commanded to sing in tongues, speak in tongues, and pray in tongues. We are not commanded to think in tongues; we have to make it verbal, just like singing and worship. It is important to speak in tongues, because it edifies us. Having the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues does not make you strong any more than having a gym in your house. You have to actively engage with them to get strengthened.

3. Speak To Your Soul

David did this a lot, especially throughout the Psalms (Psalm 42:2-7). David felt distant from God many times. You have to realise that you are not your thoughts. You have thoughts. In the same way, you are not your emotions; you have emotions and you can speak to them.

People who are worn out and discouraged typically use their mouths to describe their situation instead of altering it. Your mouth can be a thermometer that reads the temperature of your life or a thermostat that will set the temperature of your life. Faith does not deny the problem, it just does not give the problem a place of influence in your life. You can speak God’s Word over your life and your life will reflect the Word of God instead of the culture or circumstances.

4. Strengthen Others

We actually strengthen ourselves in the Lord, when we are feeling tired yet choose to strengthen others. One of the things many people do when they are worn out from serving is say they need a break from serving. We don’t realize that serving is the shovel we need to dig us out of the pit we are in. When we over glorify our pain, it becomes our prison. The Bible makes it clear that he who waters others will be watered himself. When Jesus Christ was being crucified, He didn’t stop serving and ignore the repentant thief on the cross. Jesus helped him at His hardest moment. I wonder how many of us would shrink the most difficult seasons of our lives if we just continued to serve at church? There is strength is serving but there is no strength in self-pity.

5. Subdue The Enemy

“Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7

At this point, we are not dealing with normal stress; we are dealing with demonic stress.

Normal stress is when you have more load than you are able to bear. The bible doesn’t instruct us to ask the Lord to remove your stress but that he who waits upon the Lord will renew their strength. For many people, their job is a source of stress; their spouses and family are a source of stress. You can’t ask God to remove them. Anything that requires responsibility carries stress. We have to go to God to be strengthened so we can handle the stress and responsibilities of life without falling apart.

With demonic stress, you have to open your mouth and tell the devil to stop and get out of your way. We are not supposed to run from the devil; we are only supposed to run from sin. We stand and resist the devil and he flees from us. The devil will masquerade his thoughts as yours, to deceive you to take ownership of them. He doesn’t come with an audible voice and frightening appearance most of the time. We don’t fight thoughts with thoughts; we fight thoughts with words.

After that chapter, where David strengthened himself in the Lord, the next chapter, he becomes King. I truly believe that the hardest times will come when things are about to turn around. If you handle your hard times with care, they will become good times. How do you handle your hard times with care? Strengthen yourself in the Lord your God.

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