A Whole Lotta Love

2 Samuel 9:3 - The king then asked him, "Is anyone still alive from Saul's family?  If so, I want to show God's kindness to them."

How easy (some might say justified) would it have been for David to be bitter over what king Saul had put him through all those years?  Isn't it a natural human reaction to be angry, upset, or bitter when people treat you badly?

There's a few problems with this "natural" reaction.  In Galatians 6:17 Paul says, "From now on, don't let anyone trouble me with these things."  I really liked how Chuck Swindoll talks about this in a devotional of his I recently read.  He says, "Refuse to allow anyone (or anything) to gain mastery over you.  That throne within you belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Stop leasing it out!"  Isn't that a shot between the eyes.  When we allow bitterness or anger to run amok over our emotions, we are leasing out the throne of our heart to the enemy.  Whatever price the enemy will pay to lease out that throne won't compare to the price that God paid to own it outright.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).  I'm sure we're all familiar with this.  But what he says a couple of verses later is what really sticks out to me.  He says, "If you are only kind to your friends, how are you different from anyone else (v. 47)?  We were called and chosen by God to be different from those who have failed/refused to answer His call.  We were chosen to be set apart from God for His Kingdom and work.  If we are just acting like everyone else, then we aren't heeding Paul's instructions to allow God to transform us into a new person by changing the way we think (Romans 12:2).

There are those that say, it's not that easy.  Well...duh!  Anything worth doing (especially the high calling we have from our Creator) is not going to be easy.  NO ONE in the Bible said it would be easy, but just that it is worth it.  Jesus Himself said that we would endure trouble in this life, but to take heart because He has overcome it all (John 16:33).

Others may say that it was easier for David because he was anointed by God to be the king of Israel, and he is often referred to as someone after God's heart.  For starters, refer back to my last paragraph.  NOTHING is easy.  David may have been anointed, but so were we.  We were anointed when Jesus died for us and we asked Him into our heart to be our Savior, and committed our lives to following and serving Him.  Second of all, David was far from perfect.  He was just as flawed as we all are.  He faltered in his own faith in God when he ordered the census (2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21).  David committed adultery with Bathsheba, who was the wife of a good friend and faithful soldier in his army (2 Samuel 11:1-5).  How did David deal with this?  He had his good friend and faithful soldier murdered (2 Samuel 11:14-27).

Well how on earth could this guy possibly be after God's heart?!  Because when God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David about his sin, David confessed and repented of it.  He was legitimately sorry that he broke God's heart by sinning against him.  Because of this honest and earnest confession and repentance, God blessed David.  He promised to have his son be the next king (Solomon) and build God's Temple.  He also promised a king from David's line to be on the throne forever.  That's quite a blessing.

But to get back on point, don't allow the bitterness and anger to control you.  You end up giving control to an enemy that feeds off of our inability to control ourselves.  Fighting fire with fire solves nothing, and only serves to make the flames bigger.  Bob Goff said it well in his book Love Does.  He said, "I learned that fully loving and fulling living are not only synonyms but the kind of life that Jesus invited us to be part of" (Ch. 2).  Fully living requires us to love God, love people, and do stuff, as Mr. Goff so eloquently said in a message at my church once.

I say that in order to do this, we have to let go of the bitterness and anger that attempts to control our lives, and interrupt our worship and service of the God that saved us.  These things only have as much control as we allow them to have.  Similarly, so does love.  Having lived both sides of this spectrum in my life, I find it so much more rewarding and fulfilling to have a whole lotta love in my heart than anger and bitterness.  No, it's not easy, but NOTHING is.  If you're not sure who you should show love to, start with everyone and go from there.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for rescuing me from the pit of my own despair.  Thank You for releasing the grip that anger and bitterness had on my life because I gave it to them, and replacing it with love.  I know I fall short, but I know that because of Your love and sacrifice, I am forgiven by Your amazing grace.  I pray for those that are allowing these things to control them.  They haven't allowed themselves to be transformed by Your power.  My prayer is that they will finally let go and let You in.  They will allow their spirit to be renewed by Your love, and show it to everyone they encounter.  And by doing this, they will see just how great it and You really are.  In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen!



God Bless!!!