EmmDev 2017-11-03 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] In the eye of a perfect storm#1

In the eye of a perfect storm#1

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.       (1Samuel30:3-6)

We all know about the eye of the storm - that quiet centre in the midst of the swirling turbulence of a hurricane or a tornado. It is often the moment that makes the difference between death and life, between destruction and survival. David is in a perfect storm. Can you imagine the horror of the moment? He's been playing the very dangerous "double-agent" game. He's been under constant pressure, just one slip, one loose tongue and it would have been "game over" for him. Then he and his faithful warriors found themselves in the middle of the massive Philistine army, being regarded with suspicion by four out of five kings and they could have been snuffed out with the snap of a king's fingers. Then a supernatural reprieve comes and they're heading home!
You can imagine how much they were looking forward to a timeout in their haven with their loved ones. Husbands and dads were imagining holding their loved ones and being able let their constant vigilance down for a bit...
And then there's smoke on the horizon - too much to just be cooking fires... Imagine the adrenaline starting to churn in their systems... Blood pressure rising and pulses increasing... They get to their village and it's burnt to the ground and their loved ones are gone - not dead, but gone!
Imagine the horror and the raw outpouring of grief as they process the utter violation of what has happened. The author is eloquent: they "wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep." And then the anger begins to fester and boil:
"I knew we were taking too many chances"
"We made too many enemies"
"He let the success go to his head"
"He should have known better..."
"It's his fault!!!"
In their grief and pain, David's faithful band of warriors are ready to stone him. Their pain is so raw and overwhelming that they are on the verge of doing something completely irrational.
It's a perfect storm - they have lost everything.
But David finds the eye of the storm.
He finds strength in the Lord His God.
And it changes everything.

We'll look at the details of how David found strength next week.
But for now - simply consider the fact that we can find the eye of every storm when we find strength in the Lord...

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