relationships (1 Samuel 29:1-30:8) Strength and Wisdom

(1 Samuel 29:1-11)  Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. 2 And the governors of the Philistines were proceeding on, leading hundreds and thousands, and David and his men were proceeding in the back with Achish. 3 Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he deserted to me to this day?” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, so that he will return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying,

     ‘Saul has slain his thousands,
     And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have indeed been honest, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the governors. 7 Now then, return and go in peace, so that you will not do anything wrong in the sight of the governors of the Philistines.” 8 However, David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant since the day that I came before you, to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us into the battle.’ 10 Now then, rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have risen early in the morning and have light, leave.” 11 So David got up early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

(1 Samuel 30:1-8)  Then it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Also, David was in great distress because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David felt strengthened in the Lord his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.” 

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Because we live in a broken world, bad things are going to happen.  When they do, we have several options.  We can find someone to blame, whether we blame the people who actually did the deed, or someone else who is a more convenient target, or we can blame God.  God is sovereign, therefore nothing is done without Him allowing it, but He is still not to blame.  If He restrained everything, then no one would have a free will... and how could a loving God not give everyone a free will?

It helps to know that while God allows some things to happen - wow - what is He all restraining???!!!  It also helps to know that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and He will accomplish everything He has promised, and He work things out for good to those who love Him.  So how does it benefit us to turn away from the only One who can save and help us???!!!  Even though we have no idea if David and his men should have been with the Philistines in the first place, here again we have a great example in David, in that he chose to find strength and guidance in the Lord when they found their place destroyed and their families taken.

All too often we waste a lot of time and energy in finding someone else to blame for even our own actions.  When we have done something wrong and we are facing the consequences, we must put down our pride and confess our sin/s, and make the necessary changes in our lives in God's strength and guidance.  Humility is never about becoming a doormat or victim, it is about recognizing that our strength is nothing compared to the Lord's!  

When we are facing the consequences of someone else's sins, why waste time and energy in fuming.  Sure, we might require some time to process, but it is to our benefit that we quickly forgive those people and pray for them, and look to the Lord for our strength and guidance in those situations.  There are times when "all" we can do is pray for God to sort things out, then trust and rest in Him.  And there are times we need to take action, but we need to proceed in God's wisdom and love.

We will learn amazing things as we strive to remain steadfast in God's will, such as how God is able to use situations to demonstrate His mighty power and love.  As we and those around us see God at work, we can see and know how God is so very faithful, which should only continue to encourage and strengthen us in the Lord.  Therefore, no matter what is happening to us or around us, God can use us when we trust Him and allow Him to work in and through us, all to His glory.