Building Yourself Up by Larry Ollison

Building Yourself Up

Larry Ollison



Last week I counseled with a lady who was depressed. She had a best friend who was a good Christian and they always spent time together. When one of them would get down and depressed, the other one would build her up. It seemed that they were always there for each other -- but then the friend moved away. The lady asked me this question: "How can I be built up now that my friend is gone? Who will lift my spirits now?"


This lady is not alone. Many of us, in fact, most of us, have a need to be built up. We need someone to put their arm on our shoulder and say, "I understand." Yet the reality of the situation is that someone is not always there to help us. There are times when we will be alone. So, what about those times? What do we do then?


In 1 Samuel 30, King David and his men came to Ziklag. When they got there, they discovered that the Amalekites had invaded the city and burned it to the ground. Not only was the city burned, but the Amalekites had taken everyone who lived in the city captive. They had taken them away as prisoners.


When David and his men saw that the city was destroyed, they were, of course, discouraged. But that wasn't the most discouraging news. All of their wives, their sons, and daughters had been taken captive.


Needless to say, David and all of his men were very upset. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 30:4 that they cried until they had no power left to cry.


Then, just when it looked like it couldn't get any worse, it did. The men became disenchanted with David. Even his trusted soldiers were so grieved that they planned to stone David to death.


At that all-time low, David did something that may have seemed out of place to everyone else, but it was exactly the right thing to do. Verse 6 says that King David -- even though his wives and children had been kidnapped, all of his soldiers wanted to assassinate him, and it looked like all was lost -- encouraged himself in the Lord.


That was the turning point. When David encouraged himself in the Lord, he gained supernatural wisdom and guidance. The results were that "David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives" (v. 18


Everything that had been taken was restored. All the hurt and despair, all the depression and grief, it was totally gone. Remember, the recovery started when David encouraged himself in the Lord.


You may say, "Well, that's a good story, but how can I encourage myself? When I'm down and alone, how do I encourage myself in the Lord?"


The answer is in the Word of God. Jude 1:20,21 says, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."


Here, we are not only told to build ourselves up, but we are told how to build ourselves up. We must pray in the spirit.


In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul said that he prayed with the understanding and he prayed in the Spirit. As Christians, we must take full advantage of praying in the Spirit. When you are down and need a friend, get alone with God. Pray in the understanding and pray in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15). According to God's Word, you will be built up because He is the life-giver, the one who quickens us, revitalizing our heart and soul (our mind, will, and emotions) and making us feel alive again (John 6:63).