September 10, 2026

Recover What Was Taken: God's Strategy for the Family

How to face the attack on the family and recover what the enemy took, following David in 1 Samuel 30.

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But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. And David inquired of the LORD, saying: Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?

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Today’s message

I do not romanticize: the greatest crisis of our time is not political or economic; it is the crisis of the family. There is an orchestration to hurt homes, confuse roles, and steal hope. I see tired couples, children captive to ideologies and vices, guilt that bleeds in silence. In Ziklag, David returned home and found everything burned and his people taken. He wept until he had no strength left. You understand this pain. I have also encountered stories like this. But there, in the land of weeping, God opened a path of restoration.

Look at the text. David was under suspicion from his own people. The Amalekites devastated structures and took families captive. There were ashes everywhere and almost no spirit left. Still, David did two simple and decisive things: he strengthened himself in the Lord and asked the Lord if he should pursue. God answered clearly and with a promise: go, overtake, recover everything. From then on, there was no empty speech: there was obedience, march, and complete restitution.

How this enemy attacks

  1. Comes with frontal fury: does not play, does not disguise; wants to destroy mercilessly.
  2. Burns structures and hurts people: material loss and deep emotional wounds.
  3. Takes captives from the house: wives, children, hearts — the family is the target.
  4. Divides from within: pits some against others and makes us fight among ourselves.
  5. Celebrates when it wins: throws a party with our loss and disunity.
What God promises you is victory and not absence of struggle.

It is not enough to diagnose; we need to respond like David. It is not to deny the pain. It is to weep before God, then rise with the strength that comes from Him, pray with objective questions, and act in obedience. Without this, we turn friends into enemies and, without realizing it, make the enemy an ally.

What David did

  1. Wept until he ran out of strength — recognized the pain without cynicism or pretense.
  2. Strengthened himself in the Lord — sought encouragement where the soul truly sustains.
  3. Prayed and inquired — decisions under God's order, not under the impulse of fear.
  4. Obeyed and pursued — fought with focus and recovered everything that had been taken.

I bring this into our home: do not accept accommodations from 'Egypt' — do not leave the youth, the heart, or the goods trapped there. Let us unite against the true enemy, and not against each other. Let us weep, seek direction, and move forward. In Christ, we seek restitution: the faith of the child, respect in marriage, the joy of the home, the lost devotion. God did not promise absence of struggle; He promised victory when we walk in His will.

Did you know

  • The episode of Ziklag occurred about a thousand years before Christ, during Saul's pursuit of David.
  • The Amalekites were recurring enemies of Israel, frequently attacking the most vulnerable and the rear.
  • At the brook of Besor, 200 of David's 600 men stayed behind due to exhaustion, but the victory achieved by 400 benefited everyone.

Key phrases

  • The greatest crisis in the world is the crisis of the family.
  • But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
  • Pursue, for surely you will overtake them and without fail recover all.
  • When we turn friends into enemies, we turn the enemy into an ally.

Translated from the Portuguese original.

Seek

To seek today

Go deeper

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Sua Família Está Sendo Destruída? A Estratégia de Deus Para Você - HERNANDES DIAS LOPES

Sermon by HERNANDES DIAS LOPES · Channel: Hernandes Dias Lopes

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