(Read 1 Samuel 25:37-44)
Today I will continue with “Faith and Patience Volume 5 – Greater is Coming!” On Friday, we saw how Abigail intervened for her husband, convincing David to spare his life. She kept David from making a major mistake, and she kept her husband from reaping a reward from his foolishness. A woman who is led by the Holy Spirit is worthy to be praised! Abigail was amazing. She wasted no time springing into action, and her actions impacted the lives of David and her husband, Nabal.
I told you that when Abigail arrived home, Nabal was throwing a big party. He was celebrating like a king, completely drunk and oblivious to what had just happened. He had no idea how close to death he was and how his wife saved his life. The next morning, when Nabal was sober, Abigail told him what happened. As Nabal thought about it and he internalized the gravity of the situation, his heart failed him. He had a stroke, and the Bible says, “he became like a stone.” Nabal remained sick, on his bed, for days. On the 10th day, he died.
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the LORD, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” It’s clear that David did not have any love for Nabal, but his point about people receiving a harvest on the negative seed they sow is valid. I will talk more about this later.
Nabal’s death left Abigail in a bad situation. In Biblical times, a woman without a husband was vulnerable. Although Nabal was wealthy, this did not mean that Abigail would take control of the wealth. Furthermore, the wealth would make her a target. So, in a strange twist of fate, David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to marry him. When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.” That does not sound subtle at all, but remember, this was a different time, and they had a different culture. Abigail saw it as a blessing. She knew that life, as she knew it, was over. So she got ready for whatever God had for her next.
Abigail got ready in a hurry, and she took five of her servant girls with her. They mounted donkeys, grabbed what they could, and left with David’s messengers. Just like that, Abigail became David’s wife. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, making both of them his wives. Meanwhile, Saul, who had previously given his daughter Michal to David as his wife, decided to give Michal to a man from Gallim named Palti, the son of Laish, to be his wife. The Bible has it all. While I am enjoying this series on faith and patience, David’s life is playing out like a Soap Opera. Between deaths, deception, divorces, and danger, this would make a hit-show today. But lest I digress, let’s get to the more important things.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. It’s dangerous to come up against God’s people.
— Throughout scripture, you find situations where people got in trouble and wound up doing themselves harm because they fought against those whom God was working through.
— When you try to stop a person who is being used of God, you are actually coming up against God Himself.
— The Lord has said, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm” (1 Chron 16:22). In the New Testament, we are urged to pray for those who come up against us because they don’t realize the type of trouble they are getting themselves in.
— As a child of God who is attempting to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things, this should reassure that God Himself will protect you as you perform His will on the planet. If God is FOR you, He is more than the entire world AGAINST you. You have nothing to fear.
2. When one door closes, another one opens.
— Abigail was surely distraught over her husband’s death. This was justified because his untimely death put her in a bad situation. No one expected Nabal to die like that. But as unexpected as his death was, an unexpected opportunity presented itself with David, and Abigail wasted no time taking it.
— Abigail did not wallow around in pity, worry, fear, or self-deprecation. I am sure she loved Nabal. But he was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. David was alive, and he was offering her a new opportunity, so she went for it.
— In the end, it worked out well for her. When bad things happen, and a door closes, it is okay to mourn the loss, but don’t wallow in the loss too long. If you do, you might miss the next opportunity.
— This series is about faith and patience. It is about learning how to walk with God for the long haul. If you are truly committed to God to become the man/woman He called you to be, you must be flexible and open to whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do; however, He leads you to do it. Bad things will happen. Unexpected things will catch you off guard. But just as long as you keep looking to God, He will lead you through it.
— Don’t allow the pain and disappointment that is connected to what happened to you when you least expected it to keep you from opening your heart to the NEW DOOR God is opening!
— I don’t share prophetic words often. But when I am led to, I must. I am speaking prophetically now. I am led to share this with you. Don’t be afraid. It was unexpected. It was unplanned. This is not what you wanted. But God is saying, “I am still here. I still have you in my hands. Nothing has changed. It was unexpected to you, but not to me. I knew this was coming, and I already prepared for it!”
3. The life of faith requires believing THROUGH the unexpected.
— When God speaks to you with a certain level of clarity, you tell your friends (or your spouse) that you have heard from God, that you are standing on a WORD from heaven, and that it is only a matter of time before you SEE what God SAID! While that sounds good, the truth is, you have no idea how God is going to do it. And while you clearly don’t, the mysterious nature of God actually helps fuel your non-stop speculation. While you try to tell yourself that you should be patient and simply wait on God to DO IT, however, He wants it DONE; it’s hard to stop imagining, speculating, and anticipating.
— If you are anything like me, you start to imagine a way that God will give you your breakthrough, you get excited about it, you get your hopes up, and you then experience a tremendous LET DOWN when it does not happen the way you speculated it would. After your LET DOWN, the Holy Spirit reminds you that He never said anything about the wild idea you formulated in your own mind. And this process repeats itself, over and over again, until you finally hold on long enough to receive Gods’ promise.
— A prophet told David that he was anointed to be the next King of Israel. Then David became a harp player for the King. Then an armorbearer in the palace. Then a giant-killer and a national hero. Then the King’s son-in-law. Then an outlaw. In today’s text, he would up marrying the wife of a man he wanted to kill, who wound up dying unexpectedly from a stroke. My point here is that if you take a close look at the life of David, or Joseph, or Moses, or Paul, or pick anyone God has used mightily, you will see ONE THING they all have in common. That ONE THING is that they took a crazy path to their purpose. It did not work out the way they expected. There is no way that Abigail could have expected what happened to her. In one moment, she was getting that food ready to offer to David, hoping that he would not kill her husband. And in the next, her husband was dead, and she was marrying David. My point here is that things don’t always pan out the way you planned. They certainly don’t always play out the way you wanted. But in the end, God’s Kingdom plans and purposes prevail.
— So while you are getting your hopes up and speculating about this-and-that, God sent me to remind you (and I am reminding myself), that His plans will manifest in His timing, and they will happen HIS WAY. God does not have to explain Himself. But if you hold on long enough, He will reveal Himself, and you will receive what He said. That’s what faith and patience is all about! And that’s why GREATER IS COMING FOR YOU! Not because you know what it going to happen. But because you refuse to give up until it does!
*** I wanted to close, but the Holy Spirit wants me to make one last point. GOD IS YOUR SOURCE! This means YOU are not your source and OTHERS are not your source. If you think YOU are your source, you will take on the pressure to perform. You will say things like, “How am I going to this? How am I going to take care of this?” You were not designed to deal with that type of pressure. God called you to a life that forces you to rely on Him. If you try to rely on yourself, you are going to stress yourself out because you don’t have all the answers. If you rely on OTHERS, you will be disappointed because they will let you down. You have to rely on God. He is your source and supply. Keep looking to Him, and you will be just fine. He will see you through the unexpected!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I am not afraid of attacks or attackers because my trust is in You. I don’t want to see people destroyed, not even my enemies. I bless those who curse me and intercede for those who come up against me. They have no idea what they are getting into when they put their mouths and/or their hands on Your anointed. So Father, I ask You to extend Your mercy and grace to my accusers and attackers. I ask You to send people their way, to minister Your love to them, so their hearts can be changed. As for me, I know You are my source and supply. I look to You in all things, at all times. I know the unexpected will happen. But I also know that when one door closes, another one opens. I mourn my losses, but I don’t allow myself to wallow in pity, worry, fear, doubt or unbelief. As you present me with the next opportunity, I prepare my heart and mind to receive it. Forward ever, backward never! The best is yet to come! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
