Pastor Taylor started by sharing about king David’s life. He dealt with his share of rejection. His family certainly didn’t consider him to be chosen as a king, but he was ANOINTED. He killed Goliath, moved into Saul’s house and though he loved and respected Saul – he was pursued and hunted. He had to run away and live with the enemy! He was given Ziklag and lived there. He left to fight the enemies of Israel and when he and his army returned, everything was burned, ruined – wives and children stolen. His own men wanted to turn on him and kill him. David was no stranger to rejection and hard times! HE WAS HAVING A BAD DAY!
1 Samuel 30:1-6 1David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 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.
If you read verse 6 in the King James Version it states, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (emphasis mine).
Pastor Taylor challenged us: DO NOT CURSE THE SQUEEZE! Where do we go with our issues?
He pointed out that David was GROOMED with the pressure and the squeeze through persecution! Do you know that GOD NEVER WASTES OUR PAIN?
Goliath and King Saul were actually the MAKING of David! Pastor Taylor pointed out that GOD WILL USE THE ENEMY FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES! God is bigger than our issues and our opponent! Amen!
Our God only takes us into conflicts that we are designed to win! You may want to read that statement again. God only takes us into conflicts that we are designed to win!
Isn’t it in the moment of the squeeze that we cry out? David knew the secret of longevity and his tests proved him.
When we are going through the squeeze, we are being groomed for something greater! Pastor Taylor said, “ENCOURAGE YOURSELF” just as David did!
WHAT IS GROOMING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Are we going to focus on depression, anxiety, fear OR will we SHIFT OUR FOCUS? We should REMEMBER the deeds of the Lord and faithfulness of our God. Remember and meditate on those things and our realities WILL CHANGE.
1 Samuel 12:24
Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider how great are the things He has done for you.
Too often we forget what we need to remember and remember what we should forget!
We are being TRAINED in the season of restraint. What will you do while you are being squeezed? Will you despise OR will you follow the words of David:
Psalm 34:
I will bless the LORD at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
POWERFULL POWERFULL!!
“I will bless the LORD at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Blessed day
Bernice
DO NOT CURSE THE SQUEEZE! I love this expression because I am so guilty of doing that when the squeeze begins to hurt too much! What a great post! I’m glad I read it first as it sets a good tone for my day:))
This is really good, Beth. Really good. So much power and truth. Isn’t is awesome that what satan means for our harm, God can turn that on satan and use it for our good. No matter how he shakes it, he cannot overpower our God. God can do more than satan every sets out to do.
Thanks for this timely reminder that He is using my squeeze. I think of when an orange is sweet…oh what wonderful goodness comes from that…fresh sqeeze and very pulpy OJ. (And we can make it less puply for those non-pulp lovers.)
Dare we ask the Lord to squeeze us more to get even more goodness out of us?
Kind of like the verse I memorized last month…Psalm 139:24-25…test me and know my anxious thoughts…oh dare we ask for Him to test yes? It is hard but it is needed and worthy.
Forgive my ever too observant grammatical eye, but, I believe you have a mispelling in your paragraph…Ziglag instead of Ziklag. Normally, I wouldn’t point it out but since it’s part of scripture…I’m taking the chance. 🙂
Love,
Paula
What a great lesson my friend! May we continually praise His name despite the squeeze. Thank you for that reminder!
This was awesome. I love that God never wastes our pain. That is perfect and so true.
What a great message you recieved sunday.
Beth,
Your messages always encourage me and lift me up! I learned so much today…thanks a bunch!♥
“Our God only takes us into conflicts that we are designed to win! You may want to read that statement again. God only takes us into conflicts that we are designed to win!”
I love it!!!
It’s all about Him building our character. everything is for a putpose. Thanks for the reminder.
Beth, what a powerful message you heard on Sunday and thank you so much for sharing this with us. I do love his phrase don’t curse the squeeze!! I am working on our Sunday evening worship and we are singing Everlasting God by Chris Tomlin!
Wonderful post and soooo encouraging! Thank you so much for sharing!
“Too often we forget what we need to remember and remember what we should forget!”
So true!
Enjoyed the song!
Such a powerful lesson, thanks for sharing.
Such a powerful message.
I am in the middle of doing a study on King David. This is an awesome message thanks so much for sharing it!!!
WOw!! that was just what the doctor ordered. Great insight and perfect timing. Thanks for sharing a Good Word.
Thank you! That greatly encouraged me! I’m going through a squeeze right now and it’s agony, but God has a greater purpose for all this! Thanks for the encouraging message!!
Such a very powerful sermon. You are bless to be part of that church.
By the way, thank you very much for the prayers while I was sick. I thank God that I am doing good now.
Even Jesus experienced the “Squeeze”.
At the beginning of the “squeeze” He was filled with the Spirit of God, when He victoriously walked out of that test, He was no longer just filled, but in the power of the Spirit, and no demon could hang around at His meetings!
As God is taking us on our mountain tops, the sins typically ruling on those mountain tops will test us, too.
The higher he takes us, the greater the preparation and testing, so that the enemy does not have a foothold to take us out.
Transitional seasons produce intense pressure and squeezes.
As you so rightly excerpted from your dear pastor’s sermon, never get upset about God’s preparation and squeezes.
Rather, it’s a time for us to keep our head down in humility before God and encourage ourselves in Him.
BTW, have you read this most excellent book by Bill Johnson, “Encourage yourself in the Lord”?
This is an awesome post! Amen. 🙂
http://www.freedoms-fight.blogspot.com
What a great Pastor and everything. Thanks for sharing Beth.
Hi Beth please be in much prayer for me tomorrow, I am going to visit my dad tomorrow alone and speak to him about what the Lord has put on my heart regarding his depression. the devil comes to rob kill and destroy and my dad I feel has a spirit of depression that needs to be loosed…please intercede for me I will keep you posted.
but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God”…after I had put the wee ones down, I came here yesterday to read this post….it was so wild that I had JUST finished praying out my scriptures while I was rocking the 8 month old and the above one was one of them….
This was an awesome devotional…filled with God’s Word to feast upon..((hugs))
beautiful beth…I am glad to get the update since I had to miss on Sunday …thanks so much.
Thanks Beth…I needed this badly girl…I am counting on all of you to keep up the encouraging words! I need them!! Love ya!
Thank you for this powerful message. Everytime I come to ur site, I feel motivated again. I feel being reminded that God is using my current situation for HIS glory later on.. It reminds me to hang in there…
Thanks Beth..