3 February 2014 - joy to balance our affliction

3 February 2014 - joy to balance our affliction

David is dealing with a very difficult situation this morning.  His son Absalom is in open rebellion against him.  He is trying to take the kingdom of Israel by force.  Even David's very life is not safe from his own rebellious son.  He says:

“Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom.

David shows us something of what it means to have a contrite heart.  He doesn't assert that he deserves better than this.  He refuses to take matters into his own hands.  He does not surrender his life to his enemy.  He knows that he can cling to God's covenant promise.  He knows that this affair with Absalom isn't how things are going to end.  But he doesn't try to resolve it on his own.  He won't even shut the mouth of Shinmei as he curses him.  He waits for the LORD.  His heart accepts suffering which the LORD permits.  But he holds on to the hope that this will all give way to blessings.

Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.
Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction
and make it up to me with benefits
for the curses he is uttering this day.”

The situation is certainly stacked against him.

O LORD, how many are my adversaries!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”

But he does not believe those who tell him there is no hope.  He clings to hope even as he waits on the LORD amidst his own pain and suffering.  This is the lesson David teaches us today.  God has been faithful to David before and he will be again.

When I lie down in sleep,
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
I fear not the myriads of people
arrayed against me on every side.
When we are afflicted we need to ensure that we are not like the man with the unclean spirit.  We throw aside the shackles and chains meant for our safety.  We run ahead of the LORD's plan to heal us.  We display remarkable strength.  No one can subdue us.  But we end up bruising ourselves with stones and constantly crying out.  This kind of strength won't help us to reach freedom.  We must trust in Jesus.  Before him the demons of our affliction shrink back.  The demons we our powerless to confront fall prostrate before Jesus.

Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,

They cannot help but obey him.  God is the one who is strong enough to defend David.  David knows that God is his strength.

But you, O LORD, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!
When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.

We must abandon our efforts to engineer our own deliverance.  We too must learn to trust in Jesus to deliver us.  Once he does we must not try to hold on to this particular experience.  In this sense we must let him continue on his way.

As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
And as he goes we must proclaim his salvation to all who will listen.

But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”