David Strengthened Himself by Randy Gladden
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=David-Strengthened-Himself-by-Randy-Gladden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Randy Gladden
David is on the cusp of the fulfillment of his destiny; but he doesn't know that yet. First, he will face one of the greatest challenges of his life. The Amalekites have raided and carried away their wives, children and all their possessions. What they couldn't carry away, they burned. David and his men return to find their lives reduced to ashes. Anguish turns to anger and David fears for his very life. He has lost everything and even his men have turned against him.
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David is on the cusp of the fulfillment of his destiny; but he doesn’t know that yet. First, he will face one of the greatest challenges of his life.
The Amalekites have raided and carried away their wives, children and all their possessions. What they couldn’t carry away, they burned.
David and his men return to find their lives reduced to ashes. Anguish turns to anger and David fears for his very life. He has lost everything and even his men have turned against him.
In his distress, he doesn’t immediately seek God’s direction but rather before anything else, David strengthened himself in the Lord.
Interestingly we aren’t told how David did it. And maybe that is a good thing. Rather than focusing on a process or checklist, grace means that it is an individual approach.
Jehoshaphat was facing an overwhelming army. He recounted to God how He brought His people into the promised land through great miracles. And His promise that in any crisis that if they called to Him, He would hear and save.
Ultimately, he wasn’t reminding God, he was reminding himself.
As David prepared to face Goliath, Saul tried to discourage him because of his youth. But David described how God had given him previous victories over the lion and the bear. He was confident that just as God had delivered him before, He would do so again.
Essential Life Skill
Whatever the challenge, great or small, the necessary but overlooked response should be to strengthen ourselves in God before attempting anything else. To build ourselves up in our most holy faith.
Only after strengthening himself in the Lord did David inquire of God. God confirms he is to pursue and recover. He does recover all. Nothing was lost either great or small.
There was even a reward. They captured spoil, livestock and herds. So much that they were blessed and had enough to share with all the communities He and his men had roamed.
Shortly after their return, David learns of Saul’s death and begins the process of becoming king. The crisis threatened to overwhelm him when he was so close to his destiny.
We continually face challenges that would attempt to derail us. Our first response should always be to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. Then get direction for the victory.
Randy Gladden
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=Partnership-The-Invitation-from-Gods-Love-by-Randy-Gladden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
From the first chapter of Genesis to the closing moments of Revelation, God never once positioned humanity as passive, powerless, or peripheral. He created sons and daughters, not spectators. He formed rulers, not victims. He established partners, not observers. The entire Kingdom model is built on a divine pattern: God empowers, and His people activate. God reveals, and His people respond. Beneath all of this – beneath the authority, the dominion, the assignments is a more profound truth.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=Giving-Worship--Warfare-by-Randy-Gladden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Giving is both worship and warfare. It's not a financial transaction—it's a heart revelation. From the beginning, God made it clear that offerings were never about the amount but about the motive. Abel and Cain both brought something to God, but only Abel's offering found favor. Why? Because Abel gave from devotion, while Cain gave from obligation. Abel took from his very best—the firstborn of his flock—and believed God would be pleased with it. Cain, by contrast, brought from the fruit of the ground, but not the first or the best. One gave in faith, the other in formality.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=Stepping-Stones-by-Randy-Gladden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Everyone wants to progress. Everyone wants to grow, to expand, to increase. It's human nature to desire advancement—but Kingdom nature demands response. Growth is not automatic; it's activated. Increase isn't achieved by ambition—it's unlocked through obedience. When God draws your attention to something, He is giving you a stepping stone—a path forward into destiny, maturity, and impact. What He reveals is not for your curiosity but for your calling. Every revelation is a divine invitation: Will you respond?
