REMINDING GOD OF HIS PROMISES - PART 7

THURSDAY 09 MAY 2024

David's indulgence in generosity is explanative of what a Christian can do while expecting from God. However there is an important lesson I want us to grasp in today's article, which is the power of spoken words backed up by the Spirit. More below.

Reference: 1st Chronicles 17:28-29 New International Version (NIV)

"You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."

After David's young men came and informed him of all the words of insolence Nabal replied David,  David became furious and said unto his men, "Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword, ready to go and destroy every man and boy in Nabal's family and in his servants' families. However, one of the young men in Laban's team of shepherds told Abigail, Nabal's wife everything that Nabal said to David, which provoked David. He said to Abigail, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them...for that reason, evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him."

Abigail, having heard all that transpired, made haste, and took some gifts with her in order to mollify David and his armed men. So she told her servants, "Take this on ahead, and I'll catch up with you." But She didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing. Then she rode her donkey on the path that led around the hillside, to meet David and his men heading straight at her. To put the matter in a nutshell, Abigail offered her gift to David and urged him to refrain from taking revenge and from killing innocent people for the sake of Nabal's folly. She equally assured him saying, "I hope your enemies and anyone else who wants to harm you will end up like Nabal."

Beloved, there is a very important truth in "Abigail's speech" which I want to bring our attention to. She said to David:

"The Lord has promised to do many good things for you, even to make you the ruler of Israel. The Lord will keep his promises to you, and now your conscience will be clear, because you won't be guilty of taking revenge and killing innocent people. When the Lord does all those good things for you, please remember me" (1st Samuel 25:30-31 CEV).

Question? How did she find out about what the Lord would promise David ahead of time? It was the Spirit of God speaking through her. To confirm this verity, David said to her, "I praise the Lord God of Israel! He must have sent you to meet me today. And you should also be praised. Your good sense kept me from taking revenge and killing innocent people" (See 1 Samuel 25:32-33 CEV).

So her voice served as a prophetic utterance, representing the unseen - at that moment - because it took a long time before God made the promise Abigail uttered about David. In fact, it was long after David became a King that Nathan the prophet revealed God's promise to David. To be specific, Abigail's assurance that the Lord had promised to do many good things for David was recorded in 1st Samuel 25:30, while God's promise to David took place in 2nd Samuel chapter 7.

Supreme Deity calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17 NKJV). In other words, He gives life and speaks of the non-existent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed. The versified statement, in accordance with the book of Romans, is an exemplar of God's supremacy in acknowledging His spoken words as real, even before they exist in our lives and world.

To that effect, Pauline epistolary expression in 2nd Corinthians 4:18 reads, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (NIV). Here is the point: Do not always dwell on or consider the temporary things or challenge that are seen. Yes, there are unseen things God has promised to bring to fruition in your life. Learn therefore to focus on them, by looking away from the contrary situation or things which are seen. When you remind God about the unseen promises and speak them forth as you yield to the governing influence of the Holy Spirit, they will surely come to pass in your life, and you'll definitely enjoy and testify about their reality. Stay tuned for part 8. Shalom! 

Scripture Reading - Psalm 119:37-38; Genesis 17:5; 1 Corinthians 1:28; Romans 4:18.

Exuberant Declaration:

I am what God says I am, and I call into being that which does not exist. Hallelujah!