Abigail was standing between two angry and foolish men – Nabal and David. When we see her response we see that she didn’t fall into behaving like them, instead she remained the discerning woman she had been. Just because people around you are acting foolishly doesn’t mean you have to act like a fool. It’s easy to fall into their speech, their accusations, their anger, but you don’t have to!
In her response we see that she didn’t cower in fear. We don’t see her falling apart, crying, and sobbing that she didn’t know what to do. There had to be some fear there – 400 men were headed to her house! But she doesn’t let it keep her from getting up and doing something. She’s not passive. Even though it’s not her life that’s in danger, Abigail doesn’t sit at home. She sets about a plan to help those in the middle of the crisis.
It’s easy for us to not want to help when we see others in a crisis. We’re afraid of doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing, so we do nothing. There are those about us that are unsaved – they’re on their way to hell unless some Christian gets active and reaches out to capture them by giving them the Gospel. Who do you know that needs to be “rescued” from a perilous situation? Don’t be passive – reach out with the help only you can give.
In I Samuel 18 we see that Abigail got together the gift of food for David and his men. She does this quickly. She seems like an organized woman. She knew what to get and where to get it. You don’t see her flying all over the house in a fit trying to find the meat or raisins. She calmly gets it together. They were a wealthy family and had plenty to share.
Proverbs 3:27, 28 – Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. What has the Lord put into your hand that He wants you to share with others? It may be a material need. Perhaps you know a younger woman that needs to be discipled and taught the Word. Does someone need you to pray with them about a burden they’re carrying? Don’t keep it to yourself; share with others when the Lord brings it to your mind.
Abigail sends ahead the gift to David and she doesn’t tell her husband that she’s going. In her wisdom she knew that he wasn’t in the frame of mind to hear what she had to say. Her motive was not one of deception – she was seeking to spare his life from David’s wrath. She’s was acting in his best interest. Her silence to her husband is the exception. Most of the time if we’re doing something behind some one’s back we’re the ones in trouble; in this case, it was Nabal that was in trouble and his wife was seeking to get him out of it.
A woman who walks with God will know how to act wisely in a crisis. However, we need to be preparing before the crisis arrives. You can’t take a crash course in the middle of the difficulty. How can a person be prepared before a crisis? By storing away the Word of God in their hearts; learning the character of their God.
I heard someone say, “You never know how you’ll react in a crisis until it happens.” That is partly true – I can’t know exactly what I will say or do, but I can have a good idea by what I’m doing now. Think of it this way – when a runner prepares for a marathon he runs every day. He exercises and stretches. He makes his runs longer each day until the day of the race. As he stands at the starting line he might not know if he’s going to win the race, but because of the preparation he’s made, he has a pretty good idea that he won’t collapse before the race is over. He’s readied his body and his mind. That’s what we need to do – prepare so we won’t fall apart in the crisis. We can finish the race. That doesn’t mean we’re perfect Christians; we all must grow until we reach heaven, but we know this – we’re stronger and more sure of what we know about our God so that when the crisis comes we’re prepared and we won’t come unglued.
Abigail knew what to do because she was walking with the Lord. When we are in the middle of a situation that a foolish person has created, the Lord will also give us wisdom to know how to handle it if we’re like Abigail and are walking with Him.
(Continued tomorrow)
Dealing with the Fools in Your Life – Part 5
Jaws were clenched tight. Horses had been mounted and determination was on the faces of 400 soldiers headed to Nabal’s home to obey the command of their leader, David – “Kill Nabal and every male in his house!” The army looked up to see a beautiful woman headed toward them. Her facial expression is different than theirs; she is showing humility and kindness as she gets off the animal and bows herself to show honor and respect to David. Her words are calm, thoughtful, and respectful. She reveals that she is Nabal’s wife and asks David to forgive her husband for his foolishness and to accept the generous gift of food that she has brought. The soldiers each listen to this brave woman’s words and David’s response to her. They see the anger dissipating from their leader. His staunch position is now relaxed and he’s nodding in agreement. His hand falls from his sword. He slips off his animal and receives the gift from Abigail’s gracious hands. The war is over.
RefreshHer 