Saturday, February 17, 2018

I’m looking at a tangled knot. Each action and reaction made another knot. Every day that passes another gets trapped in the tangle. It’s a sticky mess and I can’t fix it. All I can do is pray and wait.

Psalms 38:14, 15, “I don’t hear a word they say, don’t speak a word in response. What I do, God, is wait for you, wait for my Lord, my God – you will answer!” The Message

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“Lift up your head and begin praising Him right now for the deliverance that is on its way to you.” from Life of Praise, “Streams in the Desert” February 17

Sunday, February 18, 2018

No resolution. There is an absence that cuts like a knife. Another knot tied. I’m still praying and waiting. I have to keep up my hope.

Romans 4:18, “Against all hope,…in hope believed.” 

“And while he was trusting, Grandma was working, and in due time faith became sight.” Streams in the Desert, 2-18

Amnon gives us an example of what happens when we don’t wait.

1. Amnon loved Tamar. David could have given her to him as his wife but he couldn’t wait. His love quickly turned to lust and then hate, 2 Samuel 13:9-19.
2. His cousin, Jonadab, couldn’t wait for him to get out of his funk. He set the stage for Amnon to get what he wanted without a covenant, 2 Samuel 13:1-5.
3. Amnon refused to wait and took what he wanted ruining Tamar. Then he refused to make an honest woman of her, 2 Samuel 13:9-19.
4. Tamar went to her brother instead of her father. Absalom took on her offense, 2 Samuel 13:20.
5. Absalom decided to “keep it quiet” instead of reporting it to his father, King David, 2 Samuel 13:20.
6. The proper authority, King David, heard about it from another source, 2 Samuel 13:21.
7. King David did nothing! He did not discipline Amnon for his treachery, 2 Samuel 13:21.
8. Absalom gave Amnon the silent treatment, 2 Samuel 13:22.
9. The hatred in Absalom festered for two years, 2 Samuel 13:23.
10. Absalom invited all the king’s household to the banquet to cover his plan, 2 Samuel 13:26, 27.
11. Absalom’s murder of Amnon was premeditated, 2 Samuel 13:28.
12. Absalom waited until Amnon was drunk to have his servants kill him, 2 Samuel 13:28.
13. Jonadab, the cousin who made it possible for Amnon to rape Tamar, stayed behind. He knew Absalom was going to kill Amnon, 2 Samuel 13:32, 33.
14. David failed to discipline Amnon and it cost him both of his sons, 2 Samuel 13:37-39.

Nothing good comes from taking matters into my own hands.

Monday, February 19, 2018

It’s a gloomy, rainy day. We had our appointment to file our income taxes. It is just not a fun day. When it comes to taxes, it is what it is. Tangles are the same. I have to trust that God is working in the background.

2 Samuel 14:14, “We all die sometime. Water spilled on the ground can’t be gathered up again. But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back.” The Message

Absalom wanted to see his father again. By the end of chapter 15, he wanted his father’s throne.  He forced others to help him.

1. Absalom destroyed a harvest to get his way, 2 Samuel 14:28-31.
2. Absalom usurped his father’s authority, 2 Samuel 14:3-6.
3. Absalom didn’t know how King David would respond in a case. He made people feel like the king wouldn’t even listen, 2 Samuel 14:3-6.
4. Absalom used false humility and flattery to get people to trust him, 2 Samuel 15:3-6.
5. Absalom covered his treachery with religion, 2 Samuel 15:7, 8.
6. Absalom used underhanded methods to gain the kingdom, 2 Samuel 15:12.
7. Absalom used innocent people for his own gain, 2 Samuel 15:11.
8. Absalom tricked Ahithophel, making it look like he was part of the conspiracy, 2 Samuel 15:12.
9. David assumed the worst, 2 Samuel 15:14.

“The gardener leaves it alone, because its fruitfulness is gone and further effort now would yield no profit. In the same way, freedom from suffering leads to uselessness.” Homera Homer-Dixon “Streams in the Desert” 2-19

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“So when you’re tempted to throw up your hands in despair and say, ‘Who knows?’ remind yourself, ‘God knows!’ and today remind yourself that He’s working things out for your good and His glory.” The Word for You Today

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“Be brave and do not pray for the hard thing to go away, but pray for a bravery that’s bigger than the hard thing.”

“The Broken Way” Ann Voskamp