Learning to hold loosely to plans………

David has his priorities right –

In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up.”

David asked, “Where shall I go?”

“To Hebron,” the Lord answered.

So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns.  2 Samuel 2:1-3

He trusts. He obeys. He wants to do things in God’s way and in God’s time.

And it pays off –

Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. 2 Samuel 2:4

When we seek first the kingdom of God, everything else will follow.

And he doesn’t forget to acknowledge the people around him, like those who gave Saul a proper burial –

“The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”  2 Samuel 2:5-7

He recognises their kindness. He thanks them. He appreciates them. He remembers to praise them.

Looking for and celebrating the good in others is so important.

However Abner has other plans –

Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.  2 Samuel 2:8-9

This causes division between the house of Saul and the house of David. Which inevitably leads to bloodshed.

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.  2 Samuel 3:1

David has six sons in Hebron. And then Abner transfers his allegiance to David when Saul’s son accuses him of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines (you couldn’t make it up!). David will not make an agreement with him unless his wife Michal (Saul’s daughter who Saul took away from David) is restored to him. Abner wants to make David king over all Israel. But it all goes slightly pear-shaped when Joab refuses to trust Abner and murders him in revenge for his own brother’s death.

David mourns. David sings a lament. David refuses to eat. And everyone is watching to see how he is reacting.

All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.  2 Samuel 3:36-37

And then we meet another two men who think they are doing the right thing – and get killed themselves for it. They murder Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth for standing against David and take his head to David. But they murdered him in his own bed in his own home – and David cannot condone this.

And then David becomes king –

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. 2 Samuel 5:1-5

Finally. It feels like it has been a long time in the coming.

And the moral of this whole story for me? Hold loosely to plans.

Things rarely pan out how we expect. Other things get in the way. Other people get in the way. We end up surprising ourselves.

We all like the idea that God has a plan for each of our lives but as someone pointed out the other day, Jeremiah 29:11 says ‘I know the plans I have for you….’ Not plan. Plans. And they are rarely what we are expecting.

For years, I have felt a deep sense of calling to serve God in this community, but never did I imaging it would be by working as the Community Colleague in the Asda Living down the road!

And if anyone had told me I would be encouraging someone else to complete the Blaydon Race last night by running alongside them, I would have said you were mad!

This is not turning out to be the life I expected.

I’ve learnt to hold loosely to plans and dreams and visions for the future.

I am learning to go with the flow and be the best I can be, whatever the day holds.

It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it.

Water in hands

Even on a small scale like this morning, when Keir is back from uni and wanting me to listen to his latest songs and I have to lay aside the list of things I wanted to achieve before work this afternoon and spend some time with my boy…..

Which is what I intend to do now!