ZIKLAG is
the Biblical name of a town that was located in the south of what was known as
the Kingdom of Judah. It was in this town that David established his operational
base to secure himself from Israel’s King Saul and Philistine opposition.
One day,
after being away for a while, David and his men returned to Ziklag only to
discover that the town and particularly their base had been raided by the an
enemy group. This enemy group took away every valuable property including their
wives and children. As if that was not enough, they razed the entire camp to
the ground with the aid of fire.
This left
David and his men with nothing. Absolutely nothing! What would you do if you
found yourself in a situation like that – when you lose everything you consider
vital for your existence? It could be being booted out of school for
non-payment of school fees, getting ejected by you r landlord, or working for
decades in the public service and retiring on a package that is enough only for
one meal.
David and
his men had a normal human reaction. According to the account, “David and his
men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4, NIV). For David, the experience was more harrowing
because “the men were talking of stoning him” (1 Samuel 30:6a, NIV). His allies
blamed him for what had happened and wanted to lynch him. Remember his two
wives had been captured; and everything he had worked for had been plundered.
David’s
conduct at this depressing moment of his life was remarkable. He did not commit
suicide. Neither did he wallow in pity. He looked into a mirror and “ENCOURAGED
HIMSELF in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6b).
When the
odds are against you, where do you look? Where do you go? Who do you talk to? It’s
good to go to a different environment to refresh yourself. It’s okay to seek
the counsel of people you trust. But what if there is nobody to talk to? What
will you do if there is nowhere to go?
At this
time, there is one voice that never leaves you. It is the voice of your soul. The
voice of your soul is always within reach. When your soul speaks to you, it
sounds louder than any external voice you will ever hear. The good thing is
that, you can determine what your soul says to you.
We can
influence the voice of our souls to encourage us. Don’t allow any external situation
to depress you into losing the essence of your life. If you learn to encourage
yourself, you can rule over circumstances. You can experience a life of peace. Life
is not experienced outside in. It unfolds inside out.
Self-encouragement
is your way out of the pitfalls of life. Without self-encouragement, nobody can
encourage you. The ability to encourage yourself helps you to connect to the encouragement
of others. If my phone cannot pick the GSM signal, there is no way I can
receive or make a call. Other people may try to call me but I cannot receive
their phone calls because of lack of connectivity.
If you don’t
learn to encourage yourself, you cannot receive encouragement from others. If you
don’t love yourself, you cannot receive love from others. If you don’t cultivate
self-confidence, no one will be able to make you confident.
ENCOURAGE
YOURSELF FROM WITHIN
WITHIN YOU are several resources you can unleash to
uplift yourself from the wilderness to the forest. Look within you and you will
find that God who created heaven and earth lives in you. You can tap into the
power of God in you to strengthen yourself.
You have desires in your heart. You desire a better
future. You want to be happier. You want to be richer. That can be a source of
encouragement. Rely on the power of the desire in you to hold yourself up.
DON’T allow any predicament in your life to press
you so bad that you become helpless. There is always help available. Help is
within reach. Help is in you. Encourage yourself from within.
© November 2013 Terry Mante
CEO, Personal Development Network
Accra, Ghana
Call to book Terry for a speaking/training session +233 (0)26 718 6420
