No where to go but up…. (devo reflection)

1 Samuel 30:3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
You may have heard the expression: “You know you’ve hit bottom when there is no where to go but up.” David is there. He conquered a giant, was anointed as (future) king, was relentlessly pursued by the current, crazed king who wanted to kill him, lost all hope and let despair whisper to his heart, defected to the enemy and served as a loyal servant for a year, was rejected by the rulers of the enemy as not being trustworthy because of the enemy status, was sent home, dejected, from the battlefront, and returned to said home only to find it had been burned to the ground and all his property and both his wives had been taken. That’s pretty far down. And then his men talk of stoning him because they blame him for their situation. Further down still.
1 Samuel 30:4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
For some, this might have proved to be the final straw. For a lesser man, it might have pushed him over the edge. And David definitely feels despair at his present circumstances, but some how, some way, God uses all of this to bring David to the end of himself, his strength, and when David gets there, squarely at the end of his own resources, he finally turns back to God and finds strength where it’s always been—in God. When he returns to God’s strength, finally things start to look up for him.
1 Samuel 30:6a David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters….
Lord, Thank You for this day and for this scripture. Being at the bottom of that pit of despair, staring at the ruins of your life is an incredibly difficult place to be. Thank You for Your loving compassion, which can take our ashes and turn them into Your beauty. Help us never forget that You are the source of our strength. Draw us closer. Amen.
1 Samuel 30:6b …But David found strength in the LORD his God.
Have a blessed day