Abigail Week 4 God Will Be the Judge
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take their refuge in Him. Psalm 37:39-40
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth author of Abigail writes: "If this story was in a movie theatre, we would expect the hero to take revenge on his enemies as the audience cheered. That's because the world considers vengeance to be a virtue. But in God's economy, things are different. Rather than seek vengeance ourselves, we are to recognize it belongs to the Lord."
Vengeance certainly would have occurred had quick thinking Abigail not stepped in. Even though this woman had not read Paul's teaching, as we have in the Romans passage below, God had engrained these qualities in her heart and was prompting her to use them for good.
God has a unique set of "Rules for Christian Living" found in Romans 12:9-12 As you read through these ask the Lord to give you a name of a person or group of people related to the statement and lay them before the Lord, take a breath and trust God.
"Be sincere in your love for others.
Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good.
Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.
Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord.
Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.
Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.
Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them.
When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad.
Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you know more than others. Make friends with ordinary people.
Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others.
Do your best to live at peace with everyone.
Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,“I am the one to take revenge and pay them back.”
The Scriptures also say,“If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. And if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. This will be the same as piling burning coals on their heads.”
Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
Without a doubt Abigail's words and actions saved her husband and their household. Wolgemuth describes how she did it in these words..."When Abigail confronted David, she did it graciously, clearly, and directly. She spoke the truth, but she did so respectfully and humbly. She was not strident. contentious, domineering, or controlling like her husband. Through her example, we learn that you can say hard things toe even the most difficult of people when you say them with a gentle and gracious spirit, genuine concern, and compassion...Ultimately your greatest impact won't be made by your outward appearance. It will be through your heart, attitude, and words."
Such godly advice! Go back and read the highlighted verbs and adjectives. I am printing these off and covering a heart shape with these words.
Wolgemuth suggests praying: "Father, thank You that I can trust You to take care of the difficult people in my life. When I’m tempted to take matters into my own hands, may I let You deal with it instead. During those times-and at all times and with all people -help me to have a gentle and gracious spirit that is under Your control. Give me wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent. Teach me to exercise discretion in my words and my actions. Thank You that my life is never out of Your control."
The Song
"Be Still My Soul" Kari Jobe
