When everything falls apart, don’t quit. Grieve honestly, find your strength in God, ask him what to do and then obey. That’s what David did when he came home to find Ziklag burned and his family taken. His story shows that God’s route to his promises is rarely the fastest one, but it’s always forming us, and the promise is often closer than it looks.

Don’t Settle for Ziklag

Navigation apps always look for the fastest route from point A to point B. God doesn’t work that way. He chooses the route that forms us. After years of running from King Saul, David was exhausted, and his thinking started to slip.

1 Samuel 27:1 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

Discouragement often starts with self-talk that hasn’t been submitted to God. David moved into enemy territory, and the Philistine king gave him the town of Ziklag, where he lived for 16 months (1 Samuel 27:6-7). After years on the run, Ziklag felt like arrival. But it wasn’t the promise. God had said David would be king of Israel, and Ziklag was only a comfortable stop along the way. Don’t confuse the interim with the inheritance, and don’t let a tired heart write your theology. Delay isn’t denial, even when God makes you wait.

Find Your Strength in the Lord

Then everything burned. While David and his men were away, the Amalekites raided Ziklag, set it on fire and carried off every woman and child. David and his men “wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4). Then his own men turned on him.

1 Samuel 30:6 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.

God never asks us to fake being strong. David grieved honestly, and then he turned to God. Real strength doesn’t come from our circumstances. It comes from time with God, especially when there’s nowhere else to turn. If that’s where you are right now, here’s how to pray when life gets hard.

Ask God, Then Obey

David didn’t charge off in anger or assume he knew what to do next. He stopped and asked.

1 Samuel 30:8 and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

Faith doesn’t assume. It asks, and then it obeys. David set out right away with his 600 men (1 Samuel 30:9), and “David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken” (1 Samuel 30:18). When your life looks like ashes, the next step is usually simple: ask God for direction and do what he says. You can learn more about how to know God’s will.

The Promise Is Closer Than You Think

Even after the rescue, David still wasn’t king. But while he was fighting at Ziklag, God was working in Israel. Saul died in battle at nearly the same time (1 Samuel 31), and three days later the news reached David (2 Samuel 1:1-4). The promise was much closer than it looked. God’s word “will not return to me empty” (Isaiah 55:11).

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The enemy doesn’t win when you’re discouraged. He wins when you quit. Jesus faced the ultimate Ziklag at the cross, when God’s promise looked farthest away, yet the resurrection was only days away (Hebrews 12:2-3). Because he rose, you can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6). You can read more about David’s whole story.

The Takeaway

What should you do when everything falls apart? Don’t quit. Grieve honestly, find your strength in the Lord, ask him what to do and obey right away. God’s route is rarely efficient, but it’s always fruitful. He’s working behind the scenes, and the promise may be closer than you think.

Discuss and Dive Deeper

Talk about it:

  1. Read “The Takeaway” above as a group. What are your initial thoughts about the article?
  2. What’s the worst wrong turn or longest detour you’ve ever taken on a trip?
  3. Read 1 Samuel 27:1. When have you “thought to yourself” instead of seeking God’s perspective? Where did it lead?
  4. What is your personal “Ziklag,” a place of comfort or compromise you may have mistaken for God’s promise?
  5. Read 1 Samuel 30:6-8. Which of David’s responses is hardest for you right now: grieving, finding strength in God, asking or obeying?
  6. Where do you sense God working behind the scenes in ways you can’t see yet?
  7. What would it look like to refuse to quit in your current season? What step of obedience is God asking you to take?

See also:

Student Group Guide

For middle school groups. Today we’re talking about what to do when life gets confusing or discouraging and you’re tempted to quit on God. David went through a moment like this in a place called Ziklag.

Icebreaker: Zigzag Challenge (5-10 minutes). Use painter’s tape or cones to make a zigzag path across the room. Have students race through it forward, backward or blindfolded with a guide. Ask: Was the zigzag harder than a straight line? Did it feel slower, even if it wasn’t? How is that like following God when life doesn’t go straight? Then connect it: David’s life looked like a zigzag, not a straight shot to God’s promise. Sometimes ours does too.

1. When your thoughts get loud. Read 1 Samuel 27:1-2. Discuss: Why do our thoughts get negative when we’re tired or stressed? Have you ever believed something untrue because you were discouraged? Takeaway: Don’t let tired thoughts guide your life. Let God’s truth guide you.

2. When comfort looks good but isn’t God. Read 1 Samuel 27:6-7. Discuss: What “comfortable” choices might students your age settle for? How can you tell the difference between comfort and calling? Takeaway: Good things aren’t always God things.

3. When your life feels burned down. Read 1 Samuel 30:1-6. Discuss: What does it mean to “find strength in the Lord”? How can you do that when you’re upset? Takeaway: God isn’t afraid of your tears, and he gives real strength when you ask.

4. Ask God what to do, then do it. Read 1 Samuel 30:8-9. Discuss: Why is obedience hard sometimes? What’s one thing God might be asking of you right now? Takeaway: Ask God. Listen. Then obey.

5. God works while you wait. Read 2 Samuel 1:1-4. Discuss: Why is it hard to trust that God is working behind the scenes? Have you ever seen God turn something around when you least expected it? Takeaway: Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean God isn’t doing it.

Challenge. This week, when you feel discouraged or tempted to quit, pray, “God, help me find my strength in you. Show me what to do next.” Then take one step of obedience.

The Making of David (Series)

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