Welcome back to the Upside Down Series! To read our previous entry please click here.
It was late at night and I was having a difficult conversation. I was going over the need to work together and felt that my efforts were not being valued. Suddenly, I missed the mark and gave up; I became selfish and hurt those who cared about me. Confessing how easy it can be for me to fall into pride and selfishness is hard. I start thinking I can overcome by my own strength and boy; how wrong I can be in those moments. I very much was like Nabal from 1 Samuel 25. We learn about the story of Nabal and Abigail, King David’s wife, in 1 Samuel 25, and how she was able to overcome pride and selfishness with wisdom. God blessed and honored her decisions by focusing on serving God first.
Let’s look at three takeaways from how she handled her situation and used it to bring glory to God:
1) Keep Gratitude in Mind
Let me set the story for you. A young David was out in the wilderness fighting battles and protecting the land. One day he came across one of the wealthiest and most influential people in Carmel, his name was Nabal. David sent messengers to greet him and protected his land. Nabal in turn hurled insults at them and mistreated them. Mind you, David and his people did nothing to fight back or to take advantage of Nabal and his property. When the messengers got back to David with the news, he was enraged and ordered them to grab their swords and face Nabal.
Abigail, Nabal’s wife at the time, had a different idea. She understood who David was and more importantly, she understood who God is. She understood that God had called David to be the next king and therefore gave him the importance God had placed on him. We too often act like Nabal and reject the people that God places in our life. They may come in to be a blessing in our life and we treat them like a curse. I encourage you to keep a tender heart like Abigail and stay attuned to God’s Word. Know that God rejoices in our praise and gratitude no matter the situation. You simply never know how God will turn your life upside down when you face every situation from a position of gratitude.
“Know that God rejoices in our praise and gratitude no matter the situation”
2) Consider Your Options
Once Abigail heard about the plans David had to attack her community for their ungratefulness, she quickly devised a plan to bring forth reconciliation. As the Word says in verse 18, she gathered “two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisings and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and loaded them on donkeys.” Abigail was quick to approach David and figure out a way to work together.
Here you can see Abigail moved quickly and generously. However, before she acted, she considered her options. I imagine her train of thought went something like this, “who can I honor God in the best possible way? Would it be by serving David or would it be by preparing to fight him?” She realized that serving David would honor God and chose to do that. She went and met David personally and asked for forgiveness. I encourage you to approach your options with the mindset of honoring God first. Just like David praised Abigail for having good judgement, God will also honor your decisions when your options consider Him at all times.
“I encourage you to approach your options with the mindset of honoring God first.”
3) Choose Humility
When Abigail returned from her meeting with David, she found Nabal in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. The Word even goes to say in verse 36 that “he was in high spirits and very drunk.” Nabal was celebrating what he felt was a victory over David, while Abigail went and redeemed them all. She was trying to honor God and he was honoring himself. However, ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. After Nabal died, David approached Abigail and she became his wife.
Nabal acted in selfishness and pride, much to the accord of a lot of us. We celebrate our victories as if we were the ones who got them and forget it was actually God who provided them for us. We approach our God-given victories with selfishness instead of humility. I encourage you to approach your victories the way Abigail did, with humility and gratitude. Abigail knew God allowed her to live and provided everything to her. She surrendered and was willing to become a servant to honor God. Just like God turned Abigail’s life upside down, He can also transform your life when your posture seeks to honor Him at every step of the way.
“She surrendered and was willing to become a servant to honor God.”
Thank you for being here and I hope you enjoyed this! Please reach out to me if there’s anything I can pray for you about. Much love and remember God is always working!