Trust Brings Peace

2 Samuel 15:23-26 -  There was deep sadness throughout the land as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.  Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road. Then they offered sacrifices there until everyone had passed by.  David instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. "If the LORD sees fit," David said, "he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again.  But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him."

 

Absalom had built himself quite the army of followers.  His handsome appearance…his beautiful chariot and horses…and his well-chosen words… had helped him develop enough followers to try and overthrow his father. David….full of sorrow …wept as he fled from the city…unwilling to stay and fight his own son...unwilling to watch his friends and family die… unwilling to see his beloved city destroyed in the fight.

 

David had matured enough in his faith that he was able to see God from the depths of his pain … and he spoke ….“if the Lord sees fit”…. and “let him do what seems best.” He took a breather from his sorrow ….and latched on to God’s peace for just a moment…as he uttered those words.  He showed the crowd that followed him…..family …friends… and leaders…that he trusted God…whatever the future brought to his life.

 

David trusted God.   He trusted him to provide in his great sorrow…just like Jesus told us in Matthew 6: 25…Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? David understood it so well that it became a theme for many of his Psalms…for the word trust appears over 71 times in those books.

 

I admit that my level of trust is still lacking.  I am working on it daily…but I still have miles to go before I get to David’s level. I know in my heart that the daily Bible study and prayer has helped… but even as I write this morning….I know that the small time I spend in study and prayer is not enough. For me to hide his word in my heart I need to really spend time in it.

 

 Somehow I have to find that trusting spirit I had as a child…that just knew that mom and dad would take care of me…no matter what was wrong.  Satan wants me to think that I could never be that trusting again…for he calls up the pain in my life and the times that God allowed me to feel the pain full.  Satan wants me to interpret that as God abandoning me...but I know that he did it now to help me grow….just as David realized in the moment that he spoke those great words of trust to his friends and family.

 

Father…I come to you this morning with a heart of thanks for all you have done in my life. I thank you for each lesson of life that brought me pain…and ask you to help me remember that you allowed them in order to train me to trust you. Help me to use David’s wise words of trust daily ...and believe with all my heart that you always know what is best. Give me the courage to trust you…no matter what situation you allow me to be in. Amen.

God Can Only Clean Our Messes...If We Ask

2 Samuel 14:1-3 - Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom.  So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don't bathe or wear any perfume. Act like a woman who has been in deep sorrow for a long time.  Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you." Then Joab told her what to say.

 

Joab had watched David hurting for as long as he could stand it…then he took matters into his own hands.  He found what he considered to be a wise woman to dress and act as a poor widow….and feed David a story of pity that mirrored his own situation with Absalom. …and her words of pity and bad luck struck a nerve in the king.  So he had Joab bring home his son….but refused to see him for two more years.

 

Maybe David felt he had no power over this wayward child….he remembered the words of God that Nathan had delivered…that predicted the rebellion of his children.  Maybe he just couldn’t bear to lose another son to the death required by law for murder…so he gave in to the reasoning of the this woman and eventually agreed to see his son.  He melted in mercy and forgiveness as soon as he saw him…and kissed him.

 

One thing for sure that is missing from this story is David or Joab asking God what to do.  Perhaps in David’s tormented silence he was composing some of the psalms commentaries said were probably written in this period of frustration over his child.  Psalm 39, 41, 55, 61-63…are full of his frustration and cries to God to relieve his pain…but not one of them asks God what to do about his son. And perhaps Joab had good intentions when he plotted to help his friend get past his sorrows…and even though it seemed to work on the surface…it only escalated the bitterness that Absalom felt for his father.

 

It reminds me of many of the messes I have made when I stepped ahead of God’s plan myself…not asking or waiting on his clear directions for my next steps. This story reminds me to work on my patience….and pray even stronger prayers of guidance and discernment for his will in my life.  God has forgiven me for my inability to wait on him….but he is still cleaning up some of the messes I made when I stepped out of his plan. 

 

Father…I thank you for the great forgiveness and mercy you show to me in spite of the many mistakes I made in the 54 years you have granted me life. Grant to me this morning the discernment I need to wait as long as it takes to hear your answers to my many prayers.  Give me wisdom to use the resources you place in front of me to help me work through the messes I created when I tried to do things myself.  Help me hear your clear directions as I ask you this morning to show me what to do.  Hold my hand and keep me from bitterness and hate…..fill me instead with your unfailing love…that I should show to others. Amen.

Forgiveness Gives Us Strength For Tomorrow

2 Samuel 13:36-39 - They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and his officials wept bitterly with them.  And David mourned many days for his son Amnon.Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.  He stayed there in Geshur for three years.  And David, now reconciled to Amnon's death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.

 

Nathan had told David his sons and family would meet with much sorrow and pain…and so this story begins to fulfill the prophecy  that foretold the great family problems of David’s household.  Before three years had passed…a rape….and a murder began to pull his family apart.  Amnon raped his half sister Tamar….so Absalom murdered him in revenge and ran to hide in the home of a neighboring king.  And even though David had reconciled the sin in his own heart…he longed to see his runaway son.

 

It is a reminder to me that our sins…even though forgiven ….follow us long after the point of our confession to God. God forgives our sin…but does not erase the natural consequences of our choices. We must hold God’s hand through the pain and memory…and seek his wisdom when we face those times when the consequences stare us in the face.  We will only face them with courage and grace…if God is next to us giving us direction.

 

It is also a reminder to me that forgiveness is the only way to heal completely from such tragic pain in our lives. As God forgave David and Bathsheba…David forgave his son…and longed to show that forgiveness in person.  Like the father of the prodigal son….he stood gazing at the road to Geshur…and prepared in his mind the hug he would give to his son on his return home. He had already lost two sons…he wanted to keep the rest as long as he could.

 

Father…thank you for this story of love and forgiveness…that helps me remember that no matter what I have done…you stand ready to forgive and accept me.  Help me to stand with you in confidence as the natural consequences of my sin materialize in my life.  Show me how to hold your hand…and deal with each situation that arises with your love and mercy…allowing me to show the forgiveness you gave me to others. Amen.

Confession Softens Callouses

2 Samuel 12:13-14 and 23-24 -  …Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."Nathan replied, "Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin.  But you have given the enemies of the LORD great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him, so your child will die."

…  “But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me."  Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child.”

 

David’s heart was so calloused that God had to send the prophet Nathan to him to break through the layers that satan had built around it.  He did not even realize Nathan’s story was an analogy of his own sin until Nathan spoke the harsh words of rebuke to him. The words immediately softened the callouses on his heart…so God could help him to see his need for repentance…and begin to wash the remnants of his sin away from his life.

 

The sad thing about David’s sin is the loss of life that ensued.  David and Bathsheba should have both died for the adultery they committed...but God in his providence….decided to take the life of the child they bore in sin instead. He declared through Nathan… that many of David’s household would die at the hand of many swords in the future… to pay the heavy price of death for the king and his new mate. The callouses were removed from his heart…but the scars of his sin would continue to impact his life for the remainder of his years.

 

The bittersweet truth of the story is that David was forgiven and allowed to continue to work on his relationship with God.  He learned that God is in control and that he must wash his face and move on from his mistakes.  He did not continue to mourn the loss resulting from his sin…he grabbed God’s hand and accepted his forgiveness.  He held tightly to God’s hand the remainder of his life…so he could traverse the difficulties of life that would be coming in his future.  God simply wasn’t finished with him yet…he had plans to prosper his future and bring forth a Messiah to be a sacrifice for all our sins.

 

Psalm 51 was written after David spoke with the prophet Nathan… and his eyes were open to the great sin he had committed. You need to read the whole Psalm….but the words from verses 7-8 spoke out to my heart as the prayer I should have daily… “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me -- now let me rejoice.”  Maybe God will send me a ‘Nathan’ when I need to be rebuked…but if I pray this prayer daily...maybe I can prevent the callouses from sin building around my heart in the first place.

 

Father…I thank you for this story of forgiveness…that shows me that no matter what I have done…or how far I get off course from your will for my life… you can cleanse me and help me to get back on track with the plan you have for my life.  Send me Nathan after Nathan…to reveal to me the things I am doing that are not pleasing to you.  Purify me as you did David…every morning anew...till I am walking perfectly in the path you need me to take…to be in your perfect will for my life. Give me the pure joy of your love to share with all around me…and let us all rejoice together in the goodness and mercy of the many blessings you have bestowed upon us despite our many sins.   Thank you for sending Christ to die for all my sins…and pay the penalty that I deserved for my many sins. Amen.

Do You Have Callouses On Your Heart?

2 Samuel 11:25-27 - Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.  And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead , she mourned for her husband.  And when the mourning was past , David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

 

David had sent his men to battle and stayed home….and one evening…taking  a stroll on the roof…he allowed satan to tempt him with lustful thoughts of a beautiful woman who was bathing on her roof.  He let his lust become full blown adultery with Bathsheba…got her pregnant...then killed her husband to cover his sin. Then he took Bathsheba into his home as yet another wife…and welcomed yet another son into his family.

 

This man with God’s own heart was far from perfect…for he let his sedentary lifestyle become an easy target for Satan to begin to control his thinking. The Bible does not record a reason for his first sin…staying home from battle….but it does record the progression of sins that David wove to cover his affair with Bathsheba. Satan took such control of his heart like God…that it began to grow a thick callous…that kept him from recognizing the cover up as sin.  Each new sin put another layer of satan’s cold attitude toward the commands of God…until David was controlled fully by the callouses on his heart…not the true heart of God that existed underneath.

 

We’ve all been there….in some way…..we have let a sin enter into our heart…and acted on it….then covered it with another sin…and covered that one with yet another.  We have allowed the lies of satan to build such a callous over the heart that we gave to God…till we believe our own lies and have no remorse for any of the sins that we commit.  And now we live the lie daily….allowing satan to control the heart of God that is covered and calloused by so much sin.

 

This story reminds me to stop and do an inventory of my actions of late….and consider if I have allowed satan to put any fresh callouses on my own heart.  My heart will never be entirely immune to satan’s lies until I get to live with God in heaven. I need to take his pumice stone...the Bible…and let it scrub those callouses right off my heart…so it can soak up the pure love of God…and keep my heart beating in rhythm with his own.  I need to spend more time in prayer…asking God to wash me clean of any new sins…and give me discernment to see God’s direction for my life.

 

Jesus himself warned us while he was here on Earth…for this story of David’s brush with sin …must not have packed enough punch to speak to all our hearts.  He could foresee the grip that evil would have on the world…so he allowed Matthew to record his words of warning and direction in Matthew 24:12-13…. “Because evil will grow, most people's love will grow cold.  But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

 

Father…I thank you for the reminder this morning that I am not immune from the lies of satan… that if followed…will build callouses on my heart that belongs to you.  Help me Lord to stop each day and consider my actions….and ask you to scrub any callouses off my heart that keep me from exposing the sin that you want to remove from my life.  Help me keep the heart beating inside me….a heart that desires to follow only you…even when the road you ask me to walk is not easy.  Expose the lies of Satan that tempt me to commit that first sin….and reveal to my heart the scripture that will make satan flee in defeat.  Remove every callous from  my heart…so it will be easier to feel the love you place inside it. Amen.

Carry A Spirit Of Courage And Love In Your Heart

2 Samuel 10:9-12 -  When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians:  And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.  And he said , If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.  Be of good courage , and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.

 

The Ammonite king had died…and left his son to rule his land….and since his father was kind to David…he sent a group of men to pay respect to the son.  The new ruler made the mistake of listening to some of the men in the city who thought they had come to spy out the town…so he shaved half of their beards off…and cut the hem of their garments high enough to expose their butts. It was an act that merited war between the lands….and the Ammonites were so scared that they employed the help of the neighboring Syrians.

 

David’s two military leaders were faced with a great army….so they split up…and vowed to help each other if the battle in either area got to difficult.  Their teamwork ..and words of courage as they prepared for a difficult battle… model for us the way we should tackle all our problems…with the support and help of friends.  The commentary in my Life Application Bible called it …”a spirit of interdependency.” 

 

The spirit they carried in their hearts that day also included a sense of trust in God’s plan.  When Joab spoke to his brother Abishai that day…he said…. “Be of good courage , and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.”  Joab understood that God was in control of the fight that day…and was ready to accept whatever outcome he deemed best.

 

I understand the power of teamwork…and am so thankful that God has placed around me wonderful friends to help me when I need it…but ….oh how I need a dose of Joab’s and Abishai’s  spirit of trust and courage.  Complete trust in the unseen plan of God is so hard…. and I will admit that I battle with it daily.  It is easier since I began reading and studying the great Bible he left us all to search for directions to anything we face…he seems to place just the right verse of power and comfort in my heart when I am struggling the most.  Maybe that was Joab’s secret too…he remembered the great words of Moses recorded in Dueteronomy 31:6…   “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

 

Father...I come this morning in awe of your power to comfort and heal me the last three years.  I thank you for guiding my heart to cling to your precious Bible for my answers…and begin to let its words be engraved on my heart.  Help me to stop every time I am tempted…or faced with a hard decision to trust you and ask you to help me recall just the right verses to give me comfort or direction.  I thank you for the wonderful tools of technology that help me study and learn more about your word…and then process what way I need to apply it to my life each day.  Help me to always keep these great words of Joab foremost in my mind…..help me to always be of good courage…..and trust in your great unseen plan for my life…that you have promised to prosper me…and give me the goodness of your love….to fulfill your will and purpose for my life.  Amen

Be Kind....To EVERYONE!

2 Samuel 9:3-5 -  And the king said , Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.  And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.  Then king David sent , and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

 

Maybe it was as simple reflective moment for David…when he remembered how very much he missed his best friend…but as he walked his grounds one day…he thought of him and the promise he had made to be kind to any of Jonathan’s family when he was gone. David did not just wait for an opportunity to present itself…he searched out a servant that he knew to be one of the kings...and inquired of him if any of Saul’s family remained. Then he called for the son of Jonathan…and restored to Mephibosheth the land of his grandfather…and invited him to live in the palace.  He even reassigned enough of his own servants to Mephibosheth…so that someone could care for the land he had given back to Jonathan’s son.

 

Kindness….most likely brought about from his deep love of the best friend he ever had…was shown to the family of Saul. His favor to Mephibosheth would have brought him political favor as well…strengthening the union of all of the tribes from the split while Saul’s son Ishbosheth ruled the majority of Israel. The kindness of David showed the people his true heart…and gave to David a comfort of sorts from his grief.  He must have missed Jonathan so very much…and wanted to be near his son…so he asked him to live in the palace with him.

 

David’s act of kindness is a good model for us…he wanted to show Jonathan’s son the same love that God had showed to him.  We should all strive to love with the same impartiality. God loved us so much that his kindness overflowed into giving his son to die for our sins…I sure can’t match that act of kindness….but I can follow the directives of many other saints like Paul…who wrote in Ephesians  4:32… “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Our motivation becomes the promise we made to God when we asked him to control our lives…just like David who had promised his friend Jonathan.

 

Father…thank you for the new day to practice your command to love each other.  Help me to be kind to all that I meet and not pick and choose the ones it is easiest.  Help me to love everyone…especially the ones who have hurt me…and the ones who don’t dress or believe the same as I do.  Give me a tender heart to feel the compassion you had for the world…that compelled you to send your son to be a sacrifice for my many sins. Show me how to be like you…and sacrifice my time and resources to do your work here on Earth….so more people can learn about your love. Amen