Raw.

"Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep."

(1 Samuel 30:4)

Real men show emotions. Real men cry. At least that's the picture you get after reading 1 Samuel 30 - an interesting story of the time David and his soldiers had their families stolen from them (yah! crazy, right?!?). They'd been off on patrol and when they returned, discovered the the Amalekites had raided and burned the city of Ziklag - the city where their families lived! Everyone was gone. Everyone. They'd taken all the women and children captive (and stolen all of their personal belongings, too!).

It's interesting that the author noted how this affected these valiant warriors & soldiers: they wept! But this wasn't just a short emotional outburst. No. They wept "until they had no more strength to weep." Wow! Then the people wanted to stone David, their leader. The author comments, "...because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters."

It's hard to imagine this scene. Family is so important to so many of us (okay, pretty much ALL of us!). To lose one's spuose and children must be so traumatic. Combine it with mass hysteria, and it's no wonder that the people channeled their hurt, anger, and bitterness toward David.

But David didn't succumb to their misplaced aggression. Why? "But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God" (v.6b). David drew his sense of value, worth, and identity from God - not from what others thought of him.

He alter went on to take back all of the wives and children... and his men no longer wanted to stone him (go figure!). But I want to stay with the feelings of sadness for a moment. David's depiction in scripture is fully human - in so many instances. It's not a sterilized, cleaned-up, PR-ready version of his life. It's a messy, raw, detailed and real version. He was someone with great achievements as well as colossal failures. He expressed a wide range of emotions. But through it all, he "strengthened himself in the LORD." Over and over again he did that.

That's wise advice. I already know that I'm not perfect (far from it). But if I can remember to strengthen myself in the LORD, things just might work themselves out along this journey called life. How about you?

AMEN.