HOW TO SURVIVE A STORM
What do you do when a storm is coming your way? That is the question that King David had to ask himself.
Absalom was the son of King David and was in line to the throne. After many years of waiting, Absalom began to set his sights on the Kingship. He hired fifty men to run ahead of him and show his growing ambition to the people. He stood by the city gate sowing doubts about King David’s ability to govern. He made promises that things would be better under him. In this way, the Bible says that Absalom “stole the hearts of the people of Israel” 2 Samuel 15:6.
David loved Absalom and overlooked many of the evil things he had done. However, at some point, David woke up to the reality that Absalom was coming for him. That a storm was coming for him. And unless God did something, he wasn’t going to survive it.
A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.” Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.” 2 Samuel 15
David could have stood his ground and fought. But this would have endangered the city he built and the lives of everyone he loved. So, David packed up and left the city that bore his name. He did not know if he would ever return.
As he left, David covered his head in sackcloth and walked barefoot up the Mount of Olives - the same place that Jesus would one day walk in his hour of need. The Bible says that everyone wept as He and his officials left the city. It was the death of a dream for the entire nation. The days of peace were over and their future was in doubt. A storm was coming.
As he walked, he revealed the state of his own heart:
“If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.” 2 Samuel 15:25-26
David reveals a level of trust in God’s plans that is hard for many of us to imagine. In effect, he says, “God has been good to me my entire life. Come what may, I will not stop trusting Him now. The same God who delivered me from the giant and King Saul can deliver me now. But even if he doesn’t, I’m not turning back” (my paraphrase).
At some moment in our lives, we all face a storm. The question is not whether the storm will come, but how do you survive the storm when it comes?
You throw your future into the hands of a trustworthy God.
And that will require you to:
Give up the false belief that you can control what happens next. You can’t. You will have to let go and trust.
Pray for His will to be done and really mean it. “God, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10.
Get on your knees and ask for God’s help. I believe David was doing that on his way out of the city and every day until he returned.
David threw his future into God’s hands and God got to work.
Friends came to David’s aide. Bad advice came to Absalom. And God gave David’s small army a great victory. It took some time, but the Lord delivered David from all his enemies. And most importantly, the storm was silenced.
Not every story ends with a tidy ending.
Not every battle ends in victory.
Not every prayer is answered as we expect.
But this I know, if you throw your future into the hands of a trustworthy God, God will get to work.
*If this has been helpful, please send me a message and let me know. I would love to hear from you. Also, please share this post with others who could benefit. The entire goal of my writing is to be a blessing to God’s Church.