Problems, problems, problems, sometimes life is surrounded with so many problems that it looks like we will never come out of them. Believe it or not there is a place where people stay together yet have no problems to deal with – it is called “cemetery”. That just shows how life and problems are so closely related. It is practically and even theoretically impossible to imagine a life without problems, because that is far from reality. Tough times are hard to navigate through, but I sometimes wonder what life would be without these tough times. In fact tough times force us to make difficult choices and often these choices play a big role in shaping our future. It is my understanding that life was designed to be tough, that times of trial, times of challenge, or times of heartache give us an opportunity to grow through the experience and draw closer to the only source of encouragement that never fails to refresh us.

During the last couple of months I was going through a situation that really helped me to relate to all those people who feel deserted and lonely. No human life is exempt from pain, we all have to face it sometime, but what was interesting about this situation is that I felt (please note this was just my feeling) that everything/everybody that I loved most or put my trust in seemed to fall apart. As the old English saying goes “misfortunes never come alone”, I was shocked that so many things can go wrong at the same time. May be I was getting too comfortable with life and this was God’s way of waking me up and bringing me closer to the reality of life. This was a tough test for me, a test that would actually show what I am ‘made of’ and how I react in such situations not only matters for me but will definitely shape my future. So as usual I went to the greatest source of wisdom for help, the Bible and I found company in the scriptures. I have read this passage several times before, but it never made an impact as it did this time. I paused for a moment and questioned why is this passage so dear to me now than in the past, obviously my Bible did not change but I was in a situation where I could relate better to the person in the Bible, as they say ‘the metal is ready for the making”.

If you have your Bibles please turn with me to I Samuel chapter 30. David is obviously a favorite character for many Christians, but very few of us realize that this great man of God had to go through very dark periods in his own life. Let me briefly paint the background for you. David was on the run from Saul who was trying to kill him, he and his men who moved with their families finally found a place to rest from Saul’s pursuit in Ziklag (sounds like Ziploc, isn’t it?). David and his 600 men travel back home from a far away land, they traveled about 70 miles approximately and it took them almost three full days. Since they were coming home obviously they were hoping to rest in their homes and enjoy their family time. But to their utter shock when they come home they found their hometown burned, plundered and their wives and children taken captive by the Amalekites. These men were warriors, but they were so hurt that they wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. Wow that is too intense. They were already physically exhausted from their war and journey, and now they were emotionally shattered because everything and everyone they loved and valued most was gone. They were mad at David’s leadership and were angry that he did not leave some men to protect their families. David himself was already a wanderer, he had very few faithful friends who stood with him during this time and because of this incident even his most faithful followers spoke of stoning him for this. I just do not know how can any individual handle so many shocks at the same time, for David literally everything fell apart. Anybody in David’s position would have considered suicide, but not David because he knew the source of true encouragement. The Bible says “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (I Sam 30:6). I hate to close it hear, but let me remind you that David did many great things after this in his life, but all of that would not have happened if David did not know the secret of life, to encourage himself in the Lord his God. When was the last time you went to the Lord to encourage yourself?