They were exhausted with weeping

1Samuel 30:4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.

Here’s David, having been run out of the country by Saul, having collected around him a ragtag army of misfits and other lost souls, and having to pledge himself to a rival king in order to live and take care of his following, and you’d think that all would be bad enough. But he comes home to find his family – and all their families – gone. And on top of that, his men threaten to turn against him! How low he must have felt at that moment, how despairing, how hopeless. It all makes my problems seem pretty small in comparison, my feelings of despair and hopelessness pretty minor. He had lost everything! And what does he do? Does despair and hopelessness lead him to abandon God, or turn against God? Not at all. He doesn’t blame God for his problems; instead, he goes to God seeking guidance and help. And God comes through.

So, two things really speak to me here. One is that however big my current problems may seem, I still have a great deal to be grateful for. My family is safe, and relatively healthy. I live in the country I choose to live in, where I enjoy freedom and many other blessings. I have resources to meet my material needs. When I begin to focus on the things for which I am grateful, the problems begin to become smaller and more manageable; I can see them in some sort of real perspective. The other things is that whenever I do feel those feelings of despair and hopelessness, when it feels like things are unraveling and I can’t hold them together, I can turn to God in prayer, contemplation and meditation on scripture such as this and God will be there to help me get perspective and get a handle on things. I can turn over what I’m struggling with, recognize what I am powerless over and surrender it to the Almighty One, and receive refreshment and renewal.

Prayer: Dear God, Sometimes life just feels overwhelming, as if it is all slipping out of my grasp, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Remind me in your wisdom at these times of how much I have to be grateful for. Soothe me with your eternal Presence that I may release myself from responsibility for those things over which I have no control, and be refreshed so that I can take on those things which I can, with your help, affect. And let me ever be mindful that everything that I have is a gift from you. Amen