3 Biblical Figures Who Navigated Stress with Spiritual Strength

In 1 Samuel 25, you will find the account of Abigail, a woman known for her quick thinking, wisdom, and diplomacy during a difficult conflict between her husband, Nabal, and David.

David was on the run from King Saul when he and his men arrived in the wilderness of Paran and found Nabal and his servants during the sheep shearing festival. David sent word to request that Nabal provide food and drink for him and his men. From David's perspective, he was owed this much in return for the protection he had given to Nabal's shepherds.

Nabal, a wealthy man known for being harsh and foolish, responds to David's request by saying, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where? (v10-11)" Nabal's refusal to provide provisions for David and his men left David angry and with plans to retaliate.

We're not talking about David storming down to Nabal's house and angrily knocking on his door with plans to say some choice words. We're talking about David taking revenge with four hundred tired, hungry, and angry men by his side.

One of Nabal's servants tells Abigail about the situation and the four hundred men headed to kill her household. I can only imagine the stress Abigail felt knowing that her husband had made a decision that would most certainly result in bloodshed.

Rather than lashing out at her husband, rather than fleeing for safety, and rather than freezing in fear, she took matters into her own hands. Abigail prepared a large feast and personally presented herself to David. She humbly fell on her face and bowed to the ground. She acknowledged and apologized for her husband's behavior, then humbly pleaded for mercy.

Here we have two men, making seemingly arrogant, bullheaded decisions, and one woman who stayed calm under pressure and managed to diffuse a deadly situation. Impressed by Abigail's wisdom and grateful for her intervention, David praises God for sending her, accepts her gift, and calls off the attack.

Abigail's actions not only saved many lives, but after Nabal's death, David took Abigail as his wife. Abigail is remembered for her wisdom, discernment, and resolve under pressure.

Photo credit: ©SWN/dalle AI

In 1 Samuel 1, you will find the account of Hannah, who was one of the two wives of Elkanah, a man from the tribe of Ephraim. Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah, had children of her own and taunted Hannah for being barren.

Scripture tells us that Elkanah "would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. (v 4-7)"

How did Hannah respond to this ridicule? Scripture says, "Hannah wept and would not eat." (v 7) This tells me that Hannah was not only heartbroken over not having children, but that she felt deep distress and depression.

We are told that after everyone else had eaten, Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons? (v 8)"

I believe this to be a loving, heartfelt response by Elkanah. Yet, if you've felt the pain of infertility, you know that even a loving husband doesn't take away the desire for a child.

Hannah could have responded to this distress in many ways. She could have responded as Sarai did in Genesis 16 and arranged for her husband to sleep with her maidservant in order to have a child. But that's not what Hannah did.

Hannah took her distress and weeping to the Lord. She prayed, "O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head. (v 11)"

Her praying was so intense that Eli, a priest in the temple, thought Hannah was drunk! Hannah assured Eli she was not intoxicated but a woman in distress pouring out her soul before the Lord. In Hannah's words, she was, "speaking out of great anxiety and vexation." (v 16)

Soon after, we are told that the Lord remembered her and opened her womb. Hannah conceived a son, named him Samuel, and in keeping her word, took him to the temple after he was weaned and gave him to the service of the Lord. Hannah is remembered as a model of faith, prayer, and devotion.

In 2 Chronicles 14, we read about Asa, the great-grandson of King David, the third king of Judah. In this account, we see that Asa is ruling a people who worship foreign gods and face a great military threat.

Asa desired to bring spiritual reform to his people rather than ignore their idolatry and allow them to continue worshiping false gods. We are told that Asa "did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God." (verse 2)

He "took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars." (verses 4-5)

After Asa brought about spiritual reform, we are told that the kingdom rested under him and prospered. Until Zerah, the Ethiopian king, came out against Asa to invade Judah with over a million men! Asa faced Zerah, ready to fight and defend his people, even though his army consisted of only around 500,000 men.

In the face of this threat, Asa didn't run the other way or surrender his people. Instead, he cried to the Lord his God, saying, "O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you." (verse 11)

Scripture tells us that the Lord defeated the Ethiopians that day. Asa and his people pursued the Ethiopian army until "none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army." (verse 13)

You and I are not kings. You and I are not staring a million men in the face who want to destroy us. We do, however, face the temptation of worshiping false gods, and we do fight our own battles in this life. We can look to Asa as an example of how to navigate these situations.

When faced with incredible stress and overwhelming odds, Asa prayed to God for help. He is known for demonstrating reliance on God rather than on military strength alone. He is known for having consistent faith in times of peace and prosperity as well as in times of trouble.

When stresses come our way, because they will, we must be ready to face them. We can face them with uncontrolled anger. We can numb our anxiety with choice substances. We can run from trouble and sacrifice others for our own safety. We can blame-shift or distract ourselves with any number of vices.

Or, we can turn to the Lord for wisdom, discernment, and help. We can rely on Him to fight our battles. We can rely on Him to calm our anxious fears. We can rely on Him to hear us when we pray.

I encourage you, as you strive to navigate stress with spiritual strength, to dig into God's Word and learn from those who have walked before us.