“’Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?’ Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. ‘Let me go over and cut off his head!’ ‘No!’ the king said. ‘Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?’” (2 Samuel 16:9-10 NLT)
Following King David’s son Absalom’s rebellion, David went into hiding. The above verses illustrate a couple of things. First, the deep resentment the relatives of David’s predecessor, King Saul, felt against David, but more importantly, the context in which David viewed his son’s rebellion and subsequent consequences.
David, with all his faults, was, after all, a man after God’s own heart. He wanted above all else to do what God wanted done, even if it cost him. What was an apparent defeat for David was now being seen in the context of what God was allowing, so, the issue wasn’t “should I have this man’s head cut off because he criticized and threw rocks at me?” but “I must see it as an opportunity to honor the Lord and wait patiently for His guidance?”
What’s our takeaway? Victory or defeat is relative to the context in which we view it. How so? We can have a major “mountain top” spiritual experience and conclude: “Wow! The Lord must really think I’m hot stuff!” when in reality He was testing us to see if we had the good sense to handle it with humility. Every experience we have is in some way a life lesson that will ultimately make us better or make us bitter; it will hone our skills in learning humility or rub our nose in our pride and self-confidence.
On the other hand, we may fall flat on our spiritual face and conclude: “I’m a loser! What kind of miserable failure am I to allow that to happen? The Lord will never forgive me for such a sin!” That’s not humility, that’s pride in disguise. That’s a blatant attempt to once again turn the focus of attention on us, rather than take the Lord at His Word, believe He sees and understands every detail of our lives and will forgive us, cleanse and restore us upon our humble confession.
Unfortunately, even as sincere, Spirit-filled, Jesus-seeking believers we can fail and fall, doing things we never dared dream we would. We can stay down, wallowing in self-pity and regret, or get up, dust ourselves off, own our sin, confess it and turn from it. We can, as David did, choose to see it as part of our spiritual growth process. The only sinless person who ever lived was nailed to a Cross where we deserved to be. But by God’s grace He took our place and every time we fall, He has made a way for us to be forgiven, learn from it and be better because of it.
Jerry Vines wrote: “A defeat that leaves you humble is better than a victory that leaves you proud.” David was better for having handled a very difficult situation with grace and mercy and the Lord rewarded him for it. Our posture of humility will be fueled by our patience under pressure. When the fires of opposition and turmoil are turned up, our focus must be kept on the Lord, made possible by continued prayer and humility before Him.
Perhaps this is no more powerfully illustrated than in family dynamics. As a spouse or parent, to be corrected or reminded of something we’ve said or done that turned out to be quite contrary to what we’d professed, is difficult, yet how we handle it has, literally, eternal implications. Some of the most meaningful times I’ve ever had with my wife or children were when I could admit I was wrong and sincerely apologize and seek their forgiveness. Often, I’ve seen the Lord turn a very negative family situation into a very healing and helpful time where He is honored and we as family members are blessed and drawn closer.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 