Stay by the Stuff #dontquit #takeabreak

Current Precious Prodigal Post = http://bit.ly/2cNFfCs Please "Like" & "Share" with your online friends. Read more by going to: ritamoritz.com/Blog

Current Precious Prodigal Post = http://bit.ly/2cNFfCs

Stay by the Stuff

#dontquit #takeabreak

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Please "Like" & "Share" with your online friends.

Read more by going to: ritamoritz.com/Blog

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1 Samuel 30:24 “. . . as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff.”

While David and his men were away, the Amalekites had invaded Ziklag and taken David's wives and all the other women and children captive. Then they took the herds and anything of value and burned the city. When David and his men returned and saw the devastation, they "wept until they had no more power to weep." (1 Samuel 30:4)

After seeking the Lord's will, David started out with 600 men to find the Amalekites, rescue their families, and reclaim their property. When they reached the brook of Besor, however, 200 of the men were too exhausted to continue. So they remained behind "by the stuff" near the brook.

David and the other 400 crossed the brook and found the Amalekites. Then David and his men fought them and won, reclaiming the women, the herds and things that had been taken and all the goods belonging to the Amalekites. God had given them the victory just as He had promised.

Returning to the brook of Besor, some men with him said, “because those 200 didn't go with us, they shouldn’t get any of the plunder except their wives and children.” That’s when David reminded them they hadn’t done it by themselves. It was God who had protected them and given them the victory. The return of what belonged to them and the plunder were God’s blessing, and an equal part of that blessing would go to those who “[tarried] by the stuff.” (1 Samuel 30:22-24)

I don’t know why those 200 men were too exhausted to cross the brook and continue on to the battle. Maybe they were worn out from the battles and the journey that came before. Perhaps it was the enormity of their losses, the ones that made them “weep until they had no more power to weep.”

Whatever the cause, they were at the end of themselves, and it was all they could do to just stand still and “stay by the stuff.” And that was enough.

Several friends come to mind as I’m writing this, some of whom have been fighting battles with cancer, with divorce, with a prodigal. None of those paths are easy ones, and some of those dear people are exhausted. I don’t know what battles you’re facing today. But I do know if you’ve been facing them for very long, you may be exhausted too. I know I am.

This encouraging story from 1 Samuel reminds me I don’t always have to put on the armor and go into combat. Some days, those days when my burdens are more than I can handle, it’s ok to just “stay by the stuff.” They didn’t retreat. They didn’t quit. They just rested, regained some strength, and “stayed by the stuff.” It was enough for them, and it’s enough for you and me.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, recognized our limitations and realized it’s sometimes enough just to stand still and “stay by the stuff?”