Vindication from God

 David was very close to the Lord in many ways. He had a great trust in the Lord when it came to all of the afflictions which came on him because of being anointed as king of Israel. He endured the wrath of Saul, who tried to kill him, and he did not retaliate. He endured the cursing of other people, like Shimei, who cursed David when he left Jerusalem, because Absalom had declared himself to be the king. (II Samuel 16:7,12) David knew that he did not need to have Shimei killed, but he needed to trust the Lord to see his affliction and return good to David, instead of the cursing of his enemy. This takes a lot of faith and restraint, which we all need, as believers.

One of the constant truths seen all through the Bible is that we must not retaliate against people in anger or in trying to vindicate ourselves, but we must leave the vindication to God. David said that many times in his psalms, and Jesus told us the same thing. It really makes sense, too. When we retaliate and try to harm the person who is harming us or cursing us, we lower ourselves to their level. This is a bad testimony. Even if we accomplish making them silent, we can't restore our reputation in the eyes of other people. However, God can show others that we did not deserve what was done to us or said about us. God's solution is always best.

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 18-20.