Dear Ones,
Hope you have a day of growing closer to the Lord. I plan to bake cookies for Al, go to my exercise class, and Ann may stop in for lunch. Later this afternoon we are taking a friend to a book signing at a church in Pequot.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How would you answer the question, “When did you spiritually grow the most, during times of ease or in times of suffering?” I suspect that most of us would say we grew closer to the Lord when going through difficult times, although suffering doesn’t always make people better. Just because we know the Lord doesn’t exempt us from going through suffering or experiencing, getting cancer, or having children rebel. Perhaps one of the hardest things is when our own children reject us, as in the case of Absolum and King David.

It all started when Absolum’s sister Tamar was raped by her half-brother Amon. Absolum was so angry he brutally murdered him, after which he went into exile to avoid paying the price of his crime. After 3 years King David pardoned him but would not see or forgive him, and Absolum felt rejected. So much so that he tried to take the kingdom away from his father. Being persuasive, he got a following of men that plotted to help him do that and David had to flee to the wilderness again. Even his most trusted advisor and good friend, Ahithophel abandoned him and supported Absolum. One of his enemies, Shimei cursed him and threw rocks at him as David was fleeing. David’s captain wanted to cut his head off, but David restrained him, for he felt like God was using him to preach to him. But in his situation, he turned to the Lord and recovered compassion and his close life with the Lord.  He knew His real help came only from the Lord. As a result. he had compassion again for Absolum and ordered his men not to kill him. But Joab stabbed him to death as Absolum was caught in a tree by his thick hair and left dangling. David wept greatly for his son, as his heart had been touched to forgive and to love Absolum again; so much so that he laments, “Why not me rather than you, my death and not yours, O Absalom, my dear dear son!” (II Sam. 18:33)

Maybe we can think of situations when we have been betrayed by even good friends, do we let the Lord change our hearts to forgive them and to love them again? If we refuse, our hearts will grow cold and we will feel distanced from Him.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you grow through your suffering, and not become bitter but better!
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy