Strengthened in the Fog.

February 1, 2023

Sarah and I spent some time in California back in 2004. On our drive south out of San Francisco, along Highway 1, we saw this fog bank rolling in off the Pacific Ocean. I believe we were actually moving in the car when I took this picture, so it doesn’t do the fog justice, but in person, the sight was impressive.

Once we got down the road a few miles, the fog had made its way on shore. It engulfed everything. No matter where you looked… fog.

Sometimes we may feel like a fog bank has rolled in over us. We may even find ourselves in situations where we look out and watch the fog march toward us from a distance. It’s as if we know it’s coming and then it gets here and all we want to do is pull the cover over our heads.

I’m not a therapist or doctor, and this post is not about dealing with a diagnosis of depression. I’m talking about those times we find ourselves in a funk.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m naturally melancholic. When you see the word melancholic or melancholy, you may have a picture in your mind of what that looks like. I’m not even sure it’s the right word for me. Some synonyms for melancholy are downhearted, miserable, gloomy, unhappy, and despondent. Those feel lower than what I mean.

Maybe some better words for me are low-spirited or downcast. Even those feel stronger than I mean. But my point is, it doesn’t take much for me to go from my normal pensive self to woe is me. I sometimes feel as if a fog bank is rolling toward me, anticipating the worst as the fog envelopes everything around me.

So, what should we do when we feel like that?

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There was an occasion in the Bible when David fled Israel to join the Philistines. He did this because he anticipated Saul eventually finding him and killing him. I can imagine David looking out over the land and seeing the fog bank begin its march toward him.

David spent sixteen months as a vassal to Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. That means David gave his allegiance to Achish. In turn, he was given the small town of Ziklag. David was in charge of the town, along with 600 men, who served as David’s army.

These sixteen months were a dark time in David’s life. From what I can tell, there were no Psalms written during this time. No spiritual victories. David spent his time serving his nation’s enemies while on the run from Saul. Can you see the fog getting closer and closer?

At one point, Achish and the other Philistine military leaders planned to fight Israel. David found himself on point to serve the Philistine army against his home. We read in 1 Samuel 29 that though Achish wanted David to fight with them, the other Philistine leaders vetoed David’s involvement. They didn’t trust him to be true to the cause. They feared he would turn on them at the last minute.

Achish told David to return to Ziklag. He would not be allowed to fight against Israel.

1 Samuel 30 begins with David and his 600 men returning to Ziklag (the city under David’s charge) to find the city in ruins. The Amalekites had taken all the women and children and burned the city with fire. David and his men wailed until they could weep no more. David’s two wives were taken in the raid. On top of that, the men began planning to stone David to death because he had left the city unprotected.

I can imagine the fog has now fully engulfed David’s life. What a disaster. His wives taken as slaves. His town burned to the ground. Six hundred men plotting to kill him.

So, what did David do when he felt like that?

“…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6b)

The NASB translation says,

“But David felt strengthened in the LORD his God.”

I know of no better means to find my way out of the fog, but God. He is our courage. He is our strength. My prayer for you is that you rely on God to find your way out of the fog.