First Good Samaritan Baptist Church
The Caring Church, Preparing the World by Sharing the Word!

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF

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.
1 Samuel 30:6 KJV

There is a childhood story entitled The Little Engine that Could. This story featured a little engine that encountered an extremely high mountain. As he attempted to go up the mountain, the little engine said, “I THINK I CAN…I THINK I CAN.” As this phrase continued to be repeated, he eventually found himself at the top of the mountain.

This story reminds us as this sermon reveals to us that there are times when we must encourage ourselves. This passage introduces us to a season of adversity in David’s life. His city had burned to the ground and community of family went missing because an enemy had come and taken them. After all of that, David’s comrades put out a death threat on his life because they considered stoning him because they were grieving the disappearance of loved ones.

Here is the question: What does David do, during adversity and adversaries within his own company? DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF. One of the ways he encouraged himself was being mindful of past victories in his history. The enemy in the text was a familiar foe. They were the Amalekites. This group had been dealt with in recent history.

IN EXODUS CHAPTER 17:8
8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.
AND THEN IN VS 13
13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Here is the point: There are times we must encourage ourselves with recalling past victories in our history. My dad used to call it “our faith file.” When we are challenged by our fears, failures and fallacies, then we need to encourage ourselves by being reminded of past victories. It has been mentioned in a song by Tye Tribbett who says, IF HE [GOD] DID IT BEFORE, THEN HE CAN DO IT AGAIN…SAME GOD RIGHT NOW…IS SAME GOD BACK THEN.

As James Cleveland would put it, “I don’t believe HE [God] brought me this far…to leave me. So be encouraged in the Lord because you are not here by accident but by divine assignment. The next time you find yourself…by yourself…ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN THE LORD because God didn’t bring you this far to leave you.

Rev. James A. Simmons