How David Strengthened Himself in the Lord for Resilience

I love old saints. People who have been there, done that, and have the stories to tell. It was a couple of retired missionaries who strengthened me and got me through a tough season. They loved to recall the stories of the mission field and the deep lessons they learned along the way.

It was like they had a profound depth of faith that they could draw on—a bank of trust that I was able to tap into. I was strengthened via the strengthening process they had already been through. We all need old saints to carry a lamp for us in our dark times.

Is their God any different from the God I know? Is their God any different from the God that a young firebrand warrior called David leaned into?

The Crisis of David in 1 Samuel 30

“But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” — 1 Samuel 30:6

David was in a massive crisis. He had returned home with his fighting men to discover that his town had been attacked while he was away. The town had been burned, and all the women and children had been taken, including David’s two wives.

There was a lot of crying and weeping. Then the mood changed from grief to bitterness. Anger flowed directly toward the leader—David. Plans were openly made to stone him to death. But David strengthened himself in the Lord.

This has become a powerful verse for me. I have it written on the cover of my cell phone to help me remember it, acting as a daily reminder about exactly where to find my strength. When you’re in the pit of despair, you need a verse just like this.

How Did David Strengthen Himself?

The annoying, but possibly intentional, aspect of this verse is that it doesn’t tell the reader how David strengthened himself. The writer doesn’t give us a “five-step plan to strengthen your life” blog post. Instead, it just seemed to come to David as the most natural of choices to make.

You see, David had built a reinforcing rod into his soul that was unbreakable under pressure. The roots of his mind had grown and grappled around the solidness of God’s character.

I always marvel at the resilience of trees near the coast. New Zealand’s shores get battered by some ferocious storms. Winds blowing straight up from Antarctica leave nothing unchanged, yet these trees stand the test of time. The wind has sculptured them to be beautiful and artistic. Through both storms and stillness, they develop deep ties to the bedrock below them. Microscopically small root hairs draw water and nutrients from the soil, binding themselves to the surrounding presence. That is the exact invite extended to us.

1. Spiritual Strengthening is a Daily Habit

David had grown a relationship with God since childhood. From the days of leading sheep from pasture to pasture, he practiced a prayer life of complete dependency. He did everything to honor God with his being. His prayer life was his place of coming to rest in someone bigger than himself—not an escape, but an embracing of the true reality of God.

“Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.” — Psalm 23:4

Having a daily prayer life with God strengthens our soul long before the wild storms hit.

2. Recalling God’s Past Faithfulness

I believe David also strengthened himself by recalling those times when God met and helped him through previous challenges. Confidence grows through experiences that put trust to the test. He would recall the stories of his ancestors and then overlay his own stories of life and faithfulness, building a resilient matrix of strength.

3 Practical Ways to Strengthen Yourself in the Lord Today

How do we practically apply David’s secret to our own mental and spiritual health? Here are three ways to build that inner bedrock:

1. Proactively build your relationship with God: We must be intentional with spiritual disciplines. This means creating regular practices of reading the Bible, prayer, study, meeting with like-minded people, silence, and stillness. We must make proactive choices to build the relationship before the crisis hits.
2. Remember your stories: Remind yourself of the specific times when God has supported and strengthened you in the past. If you could go through it once, you can get through it again. This is why journaling is so powerful; looking over old entries allows you to see how God has helped you time after time.
3. Create physical signposts: When a heavy storm hits, we can easily forget about the bedrock available to us. My mother kept a written list in her Bible. I keep a verse on my cell phone case. For you, it could be a verse on a fridge magnet or a desktop sticky note. These are vital physical reminders to help us stand strong.

The ability to get through the toughest of times comes from strengthening yourself daily. Resilience grows day by day through relational dependency on someone far bigger than the problems you face.

Quotes to Consider

“Far from being a sign of weakness, only surrender to something or someone bigger than us is sufficiently strong to free us from the prison of our egocentricity. Only surrender is powerful enough to overcome our isolation and alienation.” — David G. Benner
“Our thirst to know God must become stronger than our thirst for anything less.” — Dr. Larry Crabb
“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.” — Maya Angelou

Questions to Answer

What daily habits help reinforce your life for when the tough times come?
What “signposts” do you currently have in place to remind you of God’s truth?
Do you have a favorite go-to verse that instantly helps you find strength?

David Strengthened Himself in the Lord and How You can too