The Doctor Is In

red alert part 2

The Doctor believes that David found strength in the Lord by thinking about who God is, what God has promised, and how much God loves us. You see, if God is who He says He is, then we can be sure that He will always keep His word regardless of what the outward circumstances may look like.

Philippians 1:6 and 2 Timothy 1:12 explain it like this...

"And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns."

"...I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return."

One of the first, best things you can do in any difficult situation is to first find your strength in God. And the way to do that is to stop and think about who God is, what He has promised you, and how much He loves you. But David didn't just stop there- he continued by doing a very smart thing…

"Then he said to Abiathar the priest, 'Bring me the oracle!' So Abiathar brought it. David asked the Lord, "Shall I chase them? Will I catch them?" And the Lord told him, 'Yes, go after them; you will recover everything that was taken from you!'" (1 Samuel 30:7-8)

David first took strength from the Lord and then asked God for the right answer for his situation. Now asking God for wisdom might seem like a no-brainer, but people will often try lots of different things before finally turning to God and asking for help in dealing with their problems. But anyone who asks for God's help in knowing what they should do will definitely get it based on what we read in James 1:5...

"If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it."

Don't ever let a tragedy or a crisis situation push you away from God- let those situations draw you nearer to God! Remember that Proverbs 28:26 tells you, "A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God's wisdom are safe." If you're in a crisis, ask God to give you the wisdom to know how to handle it.

Finally David did another wise thing- he simply did what God told him to do…

"So David and his six hundred men set out after the Amalekites..." (1 Samuel 30:9)

So David asked God what to do, God told him and then David went and did it. Pretty simple, right? Now this may not always be as easy as it sounds because following God and doing what He says can sometimes be a very difficult thing. Of course there are other times when God will give us an answer to our request for wisdom, but then we choose to ignore it because it's not the answer that we want to hear. The best response is to do what David did here- he simply asked God what to do and then he did it. When you are confronted with a crisis, ask God what to do and then remember to do what He tells you.

So how did this story end? Well, if you read a little further in 1 Samuel 30, you'll find that David and his men caught up with the Amalekites and fought them all night and into the evening of the next day. And what was the result of that battle? Well, you find the answer in 1 Samuel 30:18-19...

"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" (NIV).

So we see that David handled this crisis wisely by doing three important things:

David took strength in God
He sought God for wisdom and direction in his situation
He acted on God's direction by doing what God told him to

The Doctor believes David's example is a good one for all of us to follow today. Listen, nobody wants to be in a crisis like the one David experienced, but the question isn't, "What are we going to do in a crisis?" The question really is, "How are we going to react when the time of crisis comes?" If you follow David's good example, then you'll be ready to handle your own personal "moment of crisis" whenever it may come.

The Doctor is not a real doctor but he plays one on the Internet. E-Mail prescriptions are also available on an individual basis.

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