Good morning,
Praise the Lord for summer. Yesterday was the longest day of the year, being the first day of summer. Some pagans and new pagans welcomed the onset of summer at Stonehenge/ England, yesterday. Tomorrow is the last day of school here in New York. Schools and colleges just reopened in Orissa, India after their summer vacation. It is the beginning of monsoon season in India now. It is also the season for mangos.
Some of our visiting teams go out on Mondays. It is a great blessing to go out two by two in the name of our Lord Jesus and visit people. Alice and I walked for four miles yesterday in a nearby park, including some trails, yesterday. During my high school days I used to walk to school for four miles each way. Praise the Lord of heaven and earth who is the Lord in every season and He the Lord of all seasons.
I am looking at 2 Samuel 15 this morning, and reflecting on the life of King David, a man after God's own heart. King David is also known as the sweet singer of Israel.
In 2 Samuel 15 we see David in the midst of a scene of intrigue, deception, and treachery. Picture it. A messenger entered the throne room, bringing urgent news of dire proportions. As the messenger spoke, the words stabbed at David’s heart. David, listening intently, heard the news that the nation of Israel turned against him. The worst part is that his beloved son, Absalom, was the traitor who was leading a rebellion to overthrow David and seize the throne. It became clear that Absalom's goal was to kill David to take over the kingdom.
What a heartbreaking moment for David! The situation was steeped in personal turmoil and quite literally tore at the fabric of David’s own family. This national crisis flowed with personal heartbreak. We may even know and identify, to a degree, the pain that David was feeling.
A crisis may come upon us through our workplace, our home or even when we are minding our own business. Crisis is not a respecter of persons nor is it fair when it comes.
David took immediate, though not decisive, action. At this point David's only two options were fight or flight. If he stood to fight Absalom's forces it would be likely that David would be defeated and all of Jerusalem would pay the price for standing with their king. To flee and regroup would give time to gain strength and face the situation on his own terms.
As David left Jerusalem, he spoke with one of his military leaders, a foreign mercenary by the name of Ittai who was traveling out of the city. Ittai and his men had befriended David during his wilderness experience in Ziklag. (1 Sam 30) and returned to Israel with him. These men served as a type of honor guard for David and did not have to leave with him. David understood that the agreement that he had made with Ittai and his men could no longer be fulfilled. Essentially, he was now a foreigner in a foreign land who was being exiled to places unknown. This was no situation for innocent people. Yet, Ittai pledged his loyalty to David in life or in death.
Even in the midst of this dangerous situation David took time to worship God. Zadok brought the Ark of the Covenant out to where David was encamped and Abiathar offered sacrifices to God until everyone had left the city. David was literally running for his life but that did not mean that he would not seek the presence of God. When we take the time to worship we literally seek the presence of God. David placed such a value on being in God’s presence that he stopped to offer sacrifices to God. David understood something that we often forget. That is, when a crisis comes we must keep worship a priority in our lives. Far too often, we allow circumstances and difficulties to come between us and out ability to worship. Worship must be a priority in our lives because when we go through hard times we must know the presence of God.
The sad reality is that worship has become a side item in most people's priorities. Many use any excuse to skip service, and in doing so they lose out on building a deeper relationship with Jesus . If we cannot take time to worship God when things are going well how will we ever be able to seek His presence when times are tough?
David gave Zadok instructions to return to Jerusalem and to return the Ark to the temple. This was a bold move for David because the Ark was the empowered symbol of God’s presence. The understanding was that if you had the Ark with you, God was on your side. When David sent the Ark back to Jerusalem it was an act of absolute trust and total faith. David says "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. But if he says, `I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."
David understood that his entire situation was in the God's hands, and that the only way to live through the crisis was to place His complete trust in God. David also demonstrated that he belonged to God when he expressed his commitment to God’s will, whatever it may be. As David left Jerusalem, literally running for his life, the emotion of the situation came pouring out. The power of his pain became so great that he could no longer contain it.
As David left Jerusalem, he became a man in exile, marked for death, whose followers were comprised more of foreigners than his own people. David covered his head, walked barefoot ,and openly wept as he climbed the Mount of Olives, no doubt looking back down to see Jerusalem one more time before he headed to exile in the desert.
Too often we try to contain our emotions when we experience difficulties or crisis. We rely on our own strength to get us through and we put on a brave face. When David climbed the Mount of Olives he took time to turn to God once again and he asked for God’s help. David's way of handling this situation teaches us a valuable lesson that we seldom learn during a crisis. That is, God can accomplish what we cannot. When situations move beyond our ability to deal with them, we must give everything over to Him.
Crises happen to everybody, and we all have to deal with them. When we face trials or hardships, it is time to seek His presence and provision even more earnestly.
In Jesus,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgY5mYbMoo
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