Show notes
What do you do when your world feels like it’s caving in? Jennifer Slattery brings us face-to-face with a powerful moment in David’s life where everything was falling apart—and yet, he found strength not in strategy, but in God. In today’s devotional, we explore what it means to “strengthen ourselves in the Lord,” and how to follow David’s example in our own moments of fear, anxiety, and deep distress.
🛠️ What You'll Learn:
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The biblical blueprint for handling emotional overwhelm.
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Why expressing raw emotions to God isn’t weakness—it’s spiritual wisdom.
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How praising God’s character shifts our perspective and calms our storm.
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That supernatural strength doesn’t always change the circumstance—but it always changes us.
Everyone has default responses to crisis—some healthy, some not so much. This episode invites you to consider your own “patterns” and how they compare to David’s spiritual reflexes. Are you leaning on your own strength or anchoring yourself in the Lord? Reflect, journal, or pray through a time you experienced God’s sustaining power right when you needed it most.
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Full Transcript Below:
Supernatural strength for times of crisis
By Jennifer Slattery
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. –1 Samuel 30:6 NIV
As someone with a long history of anxiety, in my ongoing pursuit of peace, I’m inspired by David’s response during a time of crisis. When he found his life threatened by angry and, likely, highly fearful soldiers, he didn’t panic, try to come up with some life-preserving strategy, or even try to talk his men down from their overwhelm and upset. Instead, he “strengthened himself in the Lord.”
While Scripture doesn’t describe how he did so in this instance, it does record numerous prayers that show a predictable pattern. When afraid, David routinely turned to God, to whom he expressed the depths of his emotions, holding nothing back. He sought God’s help, protection, and provision, and he reminded himself of the Lord’s unchanging character, power, and promises.
We all have “predictable patterns,” some helpful, and others, not so much. Most of us have spent a lifetime of relying on ourselves and seeking temporary comfort in insufficient coping methods. But as we grow closer to Christ, He increases our trust in Him and teaches us to turn to Him in times of crisis, as David did in 1 Samuel 30.
This occurred after God, through His prophet, anointed him as king but prior to him taking the throne. In that stretch of time between receiving and living out his calling, he spent at least a decade fleeing from Saul, a homicidal, mentally disturbed leader who forfeited his legacy when he chose to follow his will rather than the Lord’s. And spent the rest of his life obsessively pursuing David to kill him.
But God protected David again and again, and with each divine rescue, his faith grew. Although a mighty warrior who, as a teenager, defeated a massive, highly trained and experienced Philistine soldier, and numerous other battle victories, he didn’t rely on his wisdom or military might. Instead, he sought strength in the Lord.
We catch a glimpse of how in his many songs and prayers recorded in the Psalms.
Like I said earlier, he often began crying out to God with unfiltered emotion. In Psalm 3:1-2, he wrote:
Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him” (NIV).
And in Psalm 13:1-4:
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
And in Psalm 22:1-2:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
Notice, David didn’t deny or suppress his feelings, nor did he rush past them. Instead, he expressed his anguish to the One who could comfort, sustain, and guide him.
He also routinely reminded himself of God’s character. In Psalm 4:3, he proclaimed the Lord’s faithful attentiveness, writing:
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
And in Psalm 7:11 we read:
For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face (NIV).
In Psalm 9:7, he praised God for His sovereignty when he wrote,
The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment (NIV).
When frightened or overwhelmed, David reminded himself of the truth of God’s love and care, declaring, in Psalm 3:3-5:
But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me (NIV).
In Psalm 18:2, 28-36 we read:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. …
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way (NIV).
Intersecting Life and Faith
God recorded each of these passages, and numerous others like them, to show us how to respond to our seasons of overwhelm. Like David, we can turn to Him in our fear, remind ourselves of His nature and His heart, and reflect upon His unchanging truth. Not only does this decrease our anxiety and fear, but it also helps to rewire our brains to experience ever-increasing peace.
Further Reading:
2 Corinthians 10:5
Romans 8:26-39
1 Peter 5:6-7
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