The Lord Shall Repay
All through the Bible we read about the Lord repaying people for what they did. We can see clearly that God is concerned about what we do and how we do it. He disciplines us to lead us to do the right things in the right way. Most of the time, we do not have to be harsh to carry out God's will. David knew that, but Joab and Abishai did not.(II Samuel 3:39) When they killed Abner, they went against what David would have done, and David knew that God would repay them for their wickedness. We need to learn some lessons from this.
We can follow God's commands without being harsh. We can operate in love, instead of hate and revenge. It has a lot to do with attitude and our outlook on life. I believe if we think we have to be harsh with other people every time to get them to do the right thing, it tells us that we have a hard heart and to get us to do the right thing, someone has to push us. In reality, if we speak kindly and tell the truth, God is able to work in most people to lead them in the right way.
Also, we do not have control over other people. David did not have control over Joab. He could have replaced him as the commander of his army, and perhaps, that is what he should have done. However, David was letting everyone know that Joab did not do what he would have done, and he was depending on God to repay Joab in His wisdom. This shows me that David was not trying to be God. He was letting God be the judge, and if Joab needed to be punished, God would do it. This is a decision all leaders have to make all of the time.
I believe we should pursue every possible option to solve a problem with others before we jump to being harsh with them. I also believe that we should have a strong faith that God will repay any of us for the evil we do, so that we don't have to be the judge and jury for others. We can live our lives as an example to others and assure them of God's justice.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 5-7.
We can follow God's commands without being harsh. We can operate in love, instead of hate and revenge. It has a lot to do with attitude and our outlook on life. I believe if we think we have to be harsh with other people every time to get them to do the right thing, it tells us that we have a hard heart and to get us to do the right thing, someone has to push us. In reality, if we speak kindly and tell the truth, God is able to work in most people to lead them in the right way.
Also, we do not have control over other people. David did not have control over Joab. He could have replaced him as the commander of his army, and perhaps, that is what he should have done. However, David was letting everyone know that Joab did not do what he would have done, and he was depending on God to repay Joab in His wisdom. This shows me that David was not trying to be God. He was letting God be the judge, and if Joab needed to be punished, God would do it. This is a decision all leaders have to make all of the time.
I believe we should pursue every possible option to solve a problem with others before we jump to being harsh with them. I also believe that we should have a strong faith that God will repay any of us for the evil we do, so that we don't have to be the judge and jury for others. We can live our lives as an example to others and assure them of God's justice.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 5-7.