Daily Devotional for Saturday, January 13

David Sends for Absalom

“And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me,” 2 Samuel 14:32.

About ten years into my ministry, I was honored to fill in for a church seeking a pastor. Initially, I was just helping them out. After a few weeks, helping out had turned into a strong relationship between us. I felt it was getting serious because people in the church had started asking if I would be willing to be their pastor. One of the members even accidentally called me “our pastor” on more than one occasion. I knew the Holy Spirit was leading me, and it was becoming evident that He was leading the church as well.

The week before they were going to vote on me as pastor, someone spoke up and said he had another person he wanted to hear preach just one time before I was called. By now I had preached there for several weeks, and I was shocked by this turn of events. I was confident this was where the Lord wanted me. What was this member thinking? Sure enough, they asked the other man to preach, liked him and called him as pastor. I never doubted the Lord’s leadership, but I questioned whether the church was listening to Him. And I got bitter.

David loved his son Absalom greatly, but Absalom had his brother Amnon killed. To avoid prosecution, Absalom fled Jerusalem for three years. David loved and missed Absalom, and he finally allowed him to return, but David would not face him. For two years, Absalom could not see the king (2 Samuel 14:28). The longer Absalom waited, the more bitter he got towards David. Despite David’s desire for reconciliation, Absalom ultimately rebelled against the king.

JUST A THOUGHT
Has bitterness towards a church member or about a church experience affected your service to God?

Chris Floyd