Keeping the Kingdom

Reading of the Day: 1 Samuel 23-25

1 Samuel 25:6: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

Throughout these chapters, we see that David had the qualities of a king even before he sat on the throne. He was well aware that, with God as his true King, he could serve and give of himself humbly to the earthly king of Israel since God appointed & anointed him to be in that position. He knew that God desired a peaceful kingdom, not one of division & chaos...and the only way to accomplish that was by keeping the peace! King Saul spent so much time pursuing David, that many times he had to be reminded of his kingly duties, such as defending Israel against the Philistines. He would turn back, pursue the Philistines, then pursue after David once again. What was happening in Israel every time Saul was away chasing David? Unfortunately, king Saul showed less qualities of a king than David, and Saul admits it when he realizes David could have killed him, but held his peace: 1 Samuel 24:20: "And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand." Self-restraint is sometimes the greatest way to keep a kingdom & keep the peace! And after Saul stops pursuing David, David sends the above Scripture as a message to a wealthy man named Nabal as a sign of peace between his men & Nabal's men. David says, "Peace be unto you, your house & all that you have." All David wanted to do was ask him to show his men a little kindness & favor because David & his men did the same for him. But Nabal was rude and denied David's request, and David was very close to losing his peace and killing him...but Nabal's wife, Abigail, stood in the gap & reminded David that vengeance is The Lord's! All we have to do to keep the kingdom is keep the peace! David could have really ruined his reputation on his journey to becoming king, but Abigail followed the leading of God and reminded him of what a true king would do! Just as David had self-restraint with Saul, he needed to do the same with Nabal. And then, God ended up allowing Nabal to die of natural causes & Abigail became David's wife! Sometimes, not doing something can be more powerful & have better results than doing something! We can keep the Kingdom of God fresh and alive in our lives by keeping the peace around us! There will be a time & place to take action, as God leads...but sometimes, you just have to say nothing, do nothing, keep the peace, and watch what God will do!