Who wins when life makes no sense?

18 Mar Who wins when life makes no sense?

Read 2 Samuel 15:13-22
Thought for the Day: God is in control!

When we face difficult times, it is easy to ask the wrong questions. Whether we deal with disappointment or betrayal, we can begin wondering: “Why me? Why would God let this happen? What did I ever do to deserve all of this?” Old Testament King David likely found himself asking these sorts of questions after he was betrayed by his own son, Absalom. Rather than peacefully passing the throne on to his son at the end of his life, David had to flee. He also noticed how many fair-weather friends quickly sided with the treasonous upstart: “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

When we face difficult times, we need to remember Who is ultimately in control: God. Rather than throwing a pity party, we can ask a powerful question: “What’s great about this?” As David lost scores of fair-weather friends, something strange happened. Ittai the Gittite (a man who had nothing to gain by staying loyal to David), his soldiers, and their families stayed true to the exiled king. While scores of David’s own countrymen ran to support Absalom, Ittai the Gittite (NOT an Israelite) didn’t. In a time when David faced both disappointment and betrayal, he found that God had given him a new loyal friend who proclaimed: “I vow by the Lord and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”

At the times life seems to make no sense, let’s remember that God is working in the lives of those around us. On the day David faced unimaginable betrayal from his own son, God worked in the heart of an unexpected ally: Ittai the Gittite. When we face difficulties but learn to ask “What’s great about this?”, we trust that God is in control. Today, let’s have the willingness to trust God fully and look for the Ittai’s in our lives!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David