The Power of Restraint

The Power of Restraint!

And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:              2 Samuel 16:5-7

As I was reading this, I could not help but to see the great restraint of David. God wants the reader to see the military might that accompanies David (all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left). In spite of this great might he is badgered by one man cursing and throwing stones at him while he is grieving over the behavior of his son.

It would have been very easy to put a stop to Shimei’s his insults, almost too easy. This is where God would have us see the difference between David and other men. He knew his past sin had brought this on. He knew he deserved what he was getting and was willing to let the Lord take care of it. He was more concerned about having God’s favor than the approval of men, even those closest to him.

Abishai, David’s nephew and faithful soldier wanted to put an end to Shimei and asked for permission but David said no. Remember, God was observing all of this. I wonder if this was a test from above, to see if David would act in self-will or accept the chastening hand of God.

David chose to rule his spirit and restrain from vengeance. This is an attribute of a mighty man before God. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Proverbs 16:32

Maybe you are being tempted to take care of your problems through the strength of your flesh. You may have the ability to get even but remember it could be a test. David would get through this with the obvious favor of God and you can too, if you exercise a little restraint and let God handle it.

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