29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”
32 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. 34 For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” 35 Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.” (1 Sam 25:29-35)
David’s encounter with Abigail was such a blessing to him. Not only did she bring him and his men food, she also saved him from doing something foolish—quite the irony since the name “Nabal” means fool. He had set in his heart to avenge the act of one man by slaughtering all the males in his household. He would have had innocent blood on his hands. The future King of Israel, the man after God’s own heart. It was not God sending him to do battle, it was his own pride at being slighted and dismissed. He would have been using his power as a leader for his own benefit. I thought of Prov. 16:18—Pride goes before destruction . . .
Don’t I need an “Abigail” in my own life? Someone who will talk sense into me at a time when I have let my emotions get the better of me and I’m about to do something foolish? Something I will regret that has long-lasting repercussions? Pride is such a battle at times. It can cause me to shut my ears to God and what I know God wants. It’s behind hurtful words I might say that crush another person’s spirit. It’s what can keep me from serving others. It’s what I call the ugly in me and it comes out sometimes when I least expect it. That is not how Jesus taught us to live. He modeled humility. I am thankful to have people in my life who will call me to account. I have a God who knows how to humble me when I need to be reminded. It is a God who loves me so much.
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord. (Ps. 40:1-3)
Yes, that is my testimony. I’m not always great about the “waiting patiently” part. I feel it was more him who waited patiently for me to seek him. When I did, he heard my cry. Who I am now compared to who I was when I was living in that self-made pit—well, all I can say is I have a reason to sing! I am a work in progress. But with the weight of shame lifted from my soul, I can praise my God. I can surrender to him when he shows me that pride. He wants only the best for me and from me.
Oh Lord, you and I have quite a story to tell. I thank you for your saving grace; I thank you for your unfailing love that fills my empty heart. I thank you for the times I see your blessings in my life, and I thank you for the times I see your correction. I thank you I can confess that ugly that shows itself and you forgive me. I thank you for the friends you’ve brought into my life who speak truth to me, encourage me, and make sure I always look to you.
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen (Ps 41:13)
Cindy (gardnlady)
Sixty-six books in a year 