1 Samuel 30:1-31 “Finding Strength in The Lord”

1 Samuel – Week 7 – Finding Strength in The Lord- Remembering Who You Are

1 Samuel 30:1-6

¹David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag.

² They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

³ When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.

⁴ David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

⁵ David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped.

⁶ David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

PRAY! I want to talk to you about- Finding Strength in The Lord- Remembering Who You Are

Intro:

• Last week, we focused on “Knowing Who You Are”—
• How understanding our identity in God
• Gives us the strength to endure, the confidence to obey, and the clarity to walk in our calling.
• That truth is
• It is not just for the good days;
• It’s especially vital for the hard ones.
• Because here’s the reality: we will all have a Ziklag.
• We will all face a moment—or many moments—when life caves in unexpectedly.
• You may recall that we refer to them as Dejected moments

Matthew 9:36

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.

• David’s Ziklag was literal—he returned home to find it burned,
• His family gone, and his men on the verge of mutiny.
• But your Ziklag may look different:
• A collapsed marriage.
• A rebellious child.
• A lost job.
• A deep betrayal by someone close.
• A diagnosis you didn’t see coming.
• A season of silence where God feels absent.
• Ziklag moments are inevitable.
• As Jesus said in

John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble…”

• Not if, but when.
• So, the question isn’t, “Will I have a Ziklag?”
  The question is, “What will I do when it comes?”
• That’s where identity becomes critical.
• Review:
• Your identity is rooted in being a beloved son or daughter of God,
• Made secure through Jesus.
• How? The Gospel
• God the Father Looks down through the completed work of Jesus
• And sees us as His children
• That is who we are!
• And if you don’t know who you are in the Lord—
• If you don’t know where your strength comes from—
• You will crumble when crisis hits.
• But if our identity is rooted in Jesus,
• You and I can do what David did.
• That’s the frame for our message today—not “if,” but “when.”
• So, what do we do when life collapses?
• What do we do when we don’t know what to do?
• What do we do when God restores what was lost?
• Let’s walk with David through 1 Samuel 30 and learn how to respond when we hit our own Ziklag.
• Look at the first one with me
• What do we do…

When Life Collapses:

• Remember Who You Are in the Lord

1 Samuel 30:1-4

David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag.

² They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

³ When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.

⁴ David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

• David returns to devastation—
• Ziklag is burned,
• His wives are taken,
• And his men are weeping until they have no strength left

1 Samuel 30:5-6

⁵ David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped.

⁶ David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

• David’s own men blame him and threaten his life
• David’s collapse at Ziklag wasn’t just circumstantial—
• It was deeply spiritual and emotional.
• He lost everything externally, and the loyalty of his men internally.
• As we saw in vs. 4
• David didn’t deny the pain.
• He wept. Loudly.
• Until there was no strength left to weep.
• But instead of staying stuck in grief, he turned to God.
• David “found strength in the Lord his God..”
• This was not a shallow encouragement—
• It was a soul-deep return to the truth of who God is and who he was in God.
• This is where we get another lens into David’s Heart
• Found in Psalm 56
• Written during the same Philistine exile period,
• This psalm gives voice to David’s internal reality when he was overwhelmed:

Psalm 56:3-4

³When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

• This wasn’t just bravado—
• It was identity.
• David was reminding himself that his trust was not in his army, his reputation, or his leadership—
• But in the character and promises of God.
• Notice vs. 8-9

Psalm 56:8-9

⁸ You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me. This reminds him of who he is: anointed by God, chosen, beloved—not abandoned.

• What a profound truth!
• David believed his pain was seen,
• His tears were collected,
• And his God was for him.
• This is how he found strength—
• Not by avoiding the pain but by entrusting it to God.
• I want to slow down here for a moment and lean into what David was not doing
• Again, “He was not avoiding the pain but entrusting it to God.
• Pastor and Writer Tim Keller says this about how pain and suffering are viewed in our modern Western culture
• He says…In traditional or religious cultures,
• Suffering could be seen as a way to grow spiritually, build character, or fulfill divine purpose.
• But modern secularism tells us instead that the highest good is personal happiness and self-fulfillment.
• So, when pain enters the picture, it feels like a meaningless interruption to life’s primary goal.
• Keller writes: “In the secular view, suffering can have no meaningful part in a story. It just gets in the way of the story you want to write for yourself.”
• He goes on to say
• In the West, comfort, pleasure, and autonomy are treated almost like sacred rights.
• Suffering is seen as an abnormal violation, rather than a normal part of human life
• This results in avoidance, denial, or resentment when pain arises
• Because it violates what we feel we are entitled to.
• Keller notes that many Westerners ask,
• “Why is this happening to me?”,
• Assuming that pain is unjust,
• Rather than seeing it as an opportunity for God to be Glorified
• Keller also observes that Western people tend to treat suffering as something to manage emotionally,
• Rather than something to understand theologically.
• The solution is often coping mechanisms,
• Not spiritual formation.
• We try to eliminate pain rather than interpret it in light of God’s purposes.
• The key for us, as it was for David,
• Is to let our crisis lead us to the presence of God,
• Not away from Him.
• Identity is most tested in loss—
• But it’s also most revealed there.
• You are not forgotten in your grief.
• Your tears are not wasted.
• Strength is found not in numbing the pain—
• But in knowing the One who holds you through it.
• (Lady at my brother’s church I am holding you)
• Your circumstances may shake you,
• But they do not define you. God does!

Romans 8:37

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

• Strengthened in his true identity,
• David doesn’t stop at his pain—
• Instead, he seeks direction from the One who defines his steps.
• Which brings us to point 2
• What do we do…

When You Don’t Know What to Do,

• Seek God’s Will with Confidence in Who You Are

1 Samuel 30:7

⁷ David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,

• After finding strength in God,
• David doesn’t react impulsively—
• He responds prayerfully.
• David doesn’t move in his own understanding—
• He seeks God’s direction.

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

• He calls for the ephod.
• He inquires.
• He listens.
• In a moment of uncertainty,
• His confidence does not come from certainty of outcome—
• But certainty of relationship.
• David knows he’s not in control,
• But he also knows he’s not abandoned.
• He belongs to the God who still speaks.

1 Samuel 30:8-10

⁸ and David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”

⁹ So David and the six hundred men with him went. They came to the Wadi Besor, where some stayed behind.

¹⁰ David and four hundred of the men continued the pursuit, while two hundred stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.

• God responds clearly: “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.” (v. 8).
• When our identity is rooted in Him,
• We can pursue His will with courage—
• Even when we don’t have all the details.
• (Lord What is your will? Not Lord what is your will for my life)
• When you don’t know what to do,
• Your position in Jesus gives you clarity.
• You are His.
• You are led.
• You are not lost.

John 10:27

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

• When you’re secure in who you are in God,
• You don’t need all the answers—you just need His voice.
• Some of you are standing at your Wadi Besor.
• You feel exhausted, uncertain, and alone.
• But if you’re listening for His voice—you’re not lost. You’re led.
• God’s voice may not give you the whole plan—
• But it will always guide you to His purpose.
• Which leads us to the next point
• What do we do…

When God Restores,

1 Samuel 30:11-15

¹¹ David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.

¹² Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, for he hadn’t eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.

¹³ Then David said to him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from?”

“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man,” he said. “My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago.

¹⁴ We raided the south country of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag.”

¹⁵ David then asked him, “Will you lead me to these raiders?”

• God guides David to an abandoned Egyptian servant,
• Proving God is always working behind the scenes for our restoration

Romans 8:28

²⁸ We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

1 Samuel 30:18

¹⁸ David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives.

¹⁹ Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, and all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.

• David recovers everything that was taken—
• Nothing is lost.
• This is a picture of God’s faithfulness and full redemption
• You see David recovered stolen family and goods
• But Jesus restores our lost identity through the gospel

Luke 19:10

¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

• Just Like David did for his family
• Jesus pursued us when we were held captive by sin,
• And by His death and resurrection,
• He has won our eternal restoration

Colossians 2:13-15

¹³ And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.

¹⁴ He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

• Now look at this last part with me
• David’s true identity shows not just in the recovery,
• But in the response.
• When God restores…How should you respond?

1 Samuel 30:23

²³ But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the Lord has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us.

• David knew this victory didn’t come from his own strength or military genius—
• It was the Lord who gave the victory
• David recognizes God as the Source

1 Samuel 30:26

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

• He doesn’t say, “Look what I did.”
• He says, “This is the Lord’s.”
• And then he gives it away.
• To the men who stayed behind.
• To the elders of Judah.
• As gifts to rebuild bridges and honor relationships.
• David sent gifts because he knew the battle wasn’t his—
• It was the Lord’s.
• David gives freely because he knows: it’s grace.
• This is what it looks like when you know who you are—
• You bless others freely,
• Like David,
• Jesus shares the spoils of His victory at the cross
• Not just with the strong,
• But with the weak, the undeserving, the forgotten.

Ephesians 4:7–8

⁷ Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

⁸ For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.

• Jesus is the greater David who says,
• “Here is a gift from the plunder of the enemy I defeated for you.”
• How should you respond?
• When God brings you out of your Ziklag,
• Don’t forget who brought you out.
• Let your restoration become someone else’s encouragement.
• Let your victory overflow in generosity.

Conclusion: Remember Who You Are—and Live Like It

• Church, we’ve walked with David through fire—through his Ziklag.
• We’ve seen the ashes of loss,
• The weight of sorrow,
• The confusion of crisis,
• And the beauty of full restoration.
• But what made the difference?
• Identity.
• David didn’t find strength in his army, his title, or his emotions—
• He found it in the Lord his God,
• Because he remembered who he was.
• And so must we.
• The truth is—you will have a Ziklag.
• It may be the ashes of a marriage,
• The silence of unanswered prayers,
• Or the collapse of something you thought was secure.
• But God does not leave His children in ruins.
• He meets them there.
• But here’s what Ziklag can’t do:
• It can’t erase your identity.
• It can’t silence the voice of God.
• It can’t stop the restoring hand of your Savior.
• So, what do we do when our Ziklag moment comes?

Action Steps:

1. When life collapses, return to the truth of who God is—and who you are in Him.

• You are not abandoned.
• You are a beloved child of God.
• Your tears are seen.
• Your pain is recorded.
• And your strength comes from the Lord.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you…” – Psalm 56:3

2. When you don’t know what to do, don’t panic—pray.

• Don’t ask, “God, what is Your will for my life?”
• Ask, “God, what is Your will right now, and how can I follow?”
• Identity-rooted people trust that His voice still speaks.

“My sheep hear my voice… and they follow Me.” – John 10:27

3. When God restores, respond like someone who knows they’re loved.

• Give God glory, not yourself.
• Be generous with what He’s given.
• Share the testimony. Serve others. Rebuild the bridges.

“Here is a gift from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies…” – 1 Samuel 30:26

4. And when you wonder if you have enough strength, look to Jesus.

• Jesus is the greater David, who pursued you when you were held captive by sin.
• He didn’t just recover what was lost—He restored your identity through the gospel.

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10

Final Word:

Your Ziklag is not the end of your story.

You are not your failure.
You are not your grief.
You are not your diagnosis.
You are God’s, and He is not done with you.

Your identity is not written in ashes.

It’s written in the blood of Jesus and sealed in His victory.

So, when life collapses, when direction is unclear, and when restoration finally comes—find your strength in the Lord, and live like someone who knows whose they are.