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Sunday, April 30, 2017

A Time to Reflect

We left last week with David mourning because his son, Absalom, died in battle.  Absalom was trying to overthrow David as king of Israel and lost.

So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him. Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. (2 Samuel 19:8 NLT)

Once again, taking back the throne, that was given to him by God, wasn’t easy.  David’s life continued to be a struggle.  He did, finally, re-establish himself as king.  He fought some more battles against external enemies, but the next big even we find described in 2 Samuel is a time describing David’s core team for the kingdom.

Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king's bodyguard. Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David's personal priest. (2 Samuel 20:23-26 NLT)

David can begin to take the time to reflect on his life.  He is far enough along that he has some perspective and can begin thinking about the good and the bad, the ups and the downs.  He can remember the battle as a young boy against Goliath, the many wars where he was credited for slaying his tens of thousands, and the many times he escaped death at the hands of his enemies.  He can also remember how his libido got him in trouble, how seeing a woman take a bath was enough to turn him into an adulterer and murder, and how these negative traits got his daughter raped and brought two of his sons to death.  David had much to reflect upon at this point in his life.

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT)

How about you?  Do you take the time to reflect on the ups and downs of your life?  When you do reflect on the “big picture,” do you reflect with God?

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