Good morning!
Question of the day: What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
This has been quite a week for Chris and I. It has been rough. I don't have any dramatic news to share it has just been a roller coaster with some fast and terrifying drops a few hopeful climbs, only to be immediately followed by more lows.
I read this passage for the last two weeks, and this week not at all. I just didn't want to. I needed to read something encouraging and this passage is not that. My head was so full of stress and anxiety that I couldn't even process this passage. Have you ever read and reread a passage only to find you still really have no idea what you have read. Well welcome to my prep.
Then last night I finally made myself sit down and reread it. Nothing! I then picked up patriarchs and prophets and it was hard to even find where she was talking about this passage. About to give up in puddle of tears I found Beth Moore's book "A heart like His." I read the chapter and was blown away. Blown away because this passage, this chapter that I put off until this week, was exactly speaking to Chris and I. It was speaking to our week. It was not only relevant, it was everything we needed.
In ways that we least expect it, when we feel like we don't deserve it, God has an answer and encouragement for us.
I hope none of you had a week like we did, but if you did or maybe yours was a few weeks ago, or maybe it is coming.... this is a chapter for you!
We are going to read the first 14 verses and save the rest for next week.
READ: 2 Samuel 16:1-4
Before we read I think it is important to remember who this Ziba is. Ziba is the servant of Saul, who cared for Mephibosheth (Saul's grandson and Jonathan's son) after his grandfather and father were killed. I hope that helps.
David and Ziba
16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
2 The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”
Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
This is just the beginning of this story which we will continue in chapter 19. However right now there are a couple things to note.
1. Ziba was lying and taking advantage of a situation to advance his own status.
2. He did this by taking advantage of David's difficult time.
This past week there were times when we felt like the stress that we were going through was making it hard to make decisions. After one phone call, Chris found himself wondering if he was being taken advantage of. Wondering if the stress that he was going through was making him vulnerable to people who were trying to seize the opportunity to use his misfortune for their gain.
When we are down, stressed, struggling for whatever reason, be careful who you listen to!
Be aware that high stress situations can and will make it difficult to make good decisions.
What are somethings that we can all do to guard against making bad decisions in highly stressful times?
- Use people you trust to help.
- Don't rush into decisions.
- Take time to pray.
Continue reading, 2 Samuel 16:5-14
Shimei Curses David
5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”
9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”
10 But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”
11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
Have you ever felt like just when you start to get up someone knocks you down?
Or does it sometimes feel like people are happy to come out of the woodwork and kick the guy who is down?
We are supposed to be building each other up, being a support, not knocking each other down!
Why do we do it?
This was a bully.
What was Davids response? Why?
What does David mean?
There is no question this seems wrong on so many levels!
Perhaps the best explanation is that David felt he deserved it. The guy was right, so why not.
Beth Moore writes about this section... "I want to express something to you that I hope you'll receive with your whole heart: We can still cry out to God for help even when we think we're getting what we deserve! God comes to us even when our pain is self-inflicted. Times of humiliation and persecution do not have to be permanent injuries."
What she said next brought a lot of comfort for Chris and I! She writes, "Few experiences are more exhausting than keeping your head up through the unjust attacks, but all journeys have an end. Finally, "The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself."
If people are throwing stones or even in the name of God cursing at you, go to God! Cry out to God! Even if you deserve it. Cry out to God! Then remember that there will be an end and then refresh!
So when attacked!
- Cry out to God
- Remember there will be an end
- Refresh
Refresh. What does that mean to you?
We don't know exactly what David did to refresh. I'm glad too because for each of us the answer will be different. Like Chris said when we were talking about this, "For you to refresh you might want to go to a party and I might want to go down into my basement office and hide!"
Here are some bible verses about being refreshed. Notice several are from Psalms.
- Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
- Psalm 68:9 You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.
- Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
- Jeremiah 31:25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
- Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
- Romans 15:32 so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.
- 1 Corinthians 16:18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
- 2 Corinthians 7:13 By all this we are encouraged.In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
- 2 Timothy 1:16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.
- Philemon 1:7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
- Philemon 1:20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
Take time to be refreshed. Give yourself permission to hide in a basement office or go to a party, or listen to music uninterrupted for an hour, or go for a walk, or take a nap, or find a body of water and just stare at it for a while. Refresh. It isn't just to make you feel better, it is to help give you strength. "The joy of the Lord is my strength!"
Chris and I are listening to Pandora and just now this song came up. I have never heard it before. Wow! It was just the perfect ending to this lesson! It was just what I needed after this past week to start refreshing my soul. Enjoy!
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