Join me, as I Discover the WAY, through the TRUTH, towards the LIFE.

Apr 8, 2006

Responding to people who make life difficult-


1 Samuel 24
David gets an opportunity to do something to Saul after all the trouble Saul has given him.

Saul had gone into a cave to rest a while, when David and his men were hiding there, Saul was all alone, David was with all his men, now this was the best opportunity one can find against their enemy to take revenge. Moreover "4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said [a] to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe." (1 Samuel 24:4) Boy with that kind of encouragement I think I would have surely killed Saul, to balance all that he did.

Here, David got a chance to take revenge for his troubles, and by troubles I mean, being chased around the country to be killed, for staying in caves, for eating sometimes, for being away from family, for no peace ofmind...etc etc etc. He even cuts a piece of Saul's garment, but then immediately his conscience strikes him and he does not harm Saul. Why did he have to do that?

Lessons

  1. By not taking revenge David respected God-" 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." (1 Samuel 24:5) He respected the authority with which God had established Saul, even though Saul did not follow God whole heartedly, David did.
  2. By not taking revenge David showed that He had a God who would take care of all his problems-Romans 12:19 (Whole Chapter) Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," [ Deut. 32:35] .says the Lord", David did not want to go against what God had established and would let God take care of anything that would harm him.
  3. Overcome evil with good-I don't know if David knew this verse, but I think evil can never negate evil, an evil done to and evil done leads to more evil. However, when evil is returned with good, it is stopped right on. Nothing can overcome evil, like GOOD. The Bible says in 2 apt verses
    Romans 12:21 (Whole Chapter) "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." and Proverbs 25:21-22 " 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. 22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. "

Conclusion: Being patient with the person who is giving you a hard time, and returning their evil with good, has a two-fold results, thats what I learnt

  1. God will take care of the enemy, in a way He knows best. Sometimes it could be a case of a hurting person, hurting someone else to feel better. We may not know their motive behind hurting us, but our God does and He knows the best way to deal with them, so the outcome of it, will always be for our benefit.
  2. The Lord will reward us, for honouring His Word and His work in our lives.

We see in the end, David's conversation ends up with Saul, on a good note. David's talk with Saul shows that David's position in that conversation was like of a person who is blessed and is in a position to bless and not one who is distressed."20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family." (1 Samuel 24:20-22). Now we can choose, if we want to be in a position like David, knowing that we will become what God wants us to become, always the head and not the tail, IF WE ONLY CHOOSE TO OBEY GOD's commands.Every one of them.

2 comments :

BenTing said...

Wonderful blog! Somehow I feel greatly refreshed by ur words. The Lord bless u.

Karuna said...

Thank you for visiting Benting, I am glad you appreciate my blog.

God Bless.