Recovering What’s Lost

I'm glad you could join us for today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading titled, Recovering What's Lost, was written by Patricia Rabin. At the phone store, the young pastor steeled himself for bad news. His smartphone, accidentally dropped during our Bible class, was a total loss, right?

Actually, no. The store clerk recovered all of the pastor's data, including his Bible videos and photos. She also recovered every photo I'd ever deleted, he said.

The store also replaced my broken phone with a brand new phone. As he said, I recovered all I had lost and more. David once led his own recovery mission after an attack by the vicious Amalekites in 1 Samuel chapter 30. Spurned by Philistine rulers, David and his army discovered the Amalekites had raided and burned down their town of Ziklag, taking captive the women and everyone else in it, including all their wives and children. Verse 4 says, So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.

The soldiers were so bitter with their leader David that they talked of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God. As God promised, David pursued the Amalekites and recovered everything the Amalekites had taken.

Nothing was missing, young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. As we face spiritual attacks that rob us even of hope, may we find renewed strength in God.

He will be with us in every challenge of life. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Samuel chapter 30 verses 1 through 6 and 18 through 19. David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old.

They killed none of them but carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David's two wives had been captured, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 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. And now verses 18 and 19. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing.

Young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for reminding us today that even when we feel abandoned or blamed and accused by others, we can come to you and you give us comfort and hope even in our most difficult times. In these challenges, please remind us to call out to you to give us the strength we need to face life's problems and rest in the knowledge that you will carry us through. We thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.