Monday, June 15, 2026

Opening Scripture

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you;
your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. Isaiah 26 (selected)

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, you are holy and exalted! May your kingdom come and your will be done in my life, home, and community, just as it is in Heaven. Help me to trust you today to meet all of my needs. Help me to forgive others, just as you have forgiven me. Help me to resist temptation and overcome the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Reflection  

We are continuing our summer theme of “Making a Difference” by exploring the fruit of the Spirit and learning how to be difference makers. Our focal verse is John 15:8, where Jesus tells his followers, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

This week, we will look at the third fruit of the Spirit identified by Paul in his letter to the Galatians: peace. Yesterday’s sermon considered the example of Abigail. She was “an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean” (1 Samuel 25:3). This couple’s encounter with David revealed the character of all three of them.

David and his six hundred followers were fleeing through the desert from King Saul and the three thousand soldiers who were desperately searching for him. In 1 Samuel 24-26, David encounters three “tests” related to his integrity and fitness to be king. As a fugitive running for his life in the wilderness, each decision he made had serious consequences for himself and his men.

In 1 Samuel 24 and 26, David has two opportunities to kill King Saul quickly and quietly. First, hiding in a cave, David sneaks up and cuts off the corner of Saul’s robe with a sharp knife. He could have easily used the knife to eliminate his pursuer. Later, David sneaks into Saul’s camp at night and takes his spear and water jug. He could have easily used the spear to eliminate his pursuer.

In each instance, David demonstrates deep respect for the man who wants to murder him, saying, “The LORD forbid that I should lift up my hand against the LORD’s anointed.” David bowed down to Saul (from a safe distance) and publicly honored him as King of Israel (before both armies), seeking to diffuse the situation when he could have easily (and perhaps justifiably) killed Saul.

David trusts God to arrange the circumstances of his kingship, rather than taking matters into his own hands, as he easily could have. Even Saul realizes that a change of reign is going to eventually take place. Saul says to David, “I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands” (1 Samuel 24:20).

In 1 Samuel 25, David faces another test of his character and worthiness to reign over God’s people. A “very wealthy” man named Nabal was shearing his three thousand sheep when David sent “ten young men” to ask Nabal for provisions. While Nabal’s servants grazed his flocks out in the wilderness, David’s men provided protection for them. Now, running from Saul, David requests a favor in return.

Nabal’s “surly and mean” character is quickly revealed. Nabal mocks David and insults his messengers. “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?”

When David hears the report, he is furious and tells his men to strap on their swords! David takes four hundred of his warriors with him to teach this man a lesson. He intends to kill every male in Nabal’s household before morning.

One of Nabal’s servants informs Abigail of what happened, and she immediately acts. This wise and peace-loving woman loads a feast fit for a king on a team of donkeys; then, without telling her husband, rides out to meet David and his men.

“When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: ‘Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name – his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent’” (1 Samuel 25:23-25).

Abigail offers the substantial load of provisions to David and his men as a “peace offering” and begs David’s forgiveness for her husband’s foolishness. In contrast to Nabal’s mocking, Abigail affirms her belief that David will be king of Israel because “he fights the LORD’s battles.” She then wisely counsels David not to “have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself.”

David is moved by Abigail’s peacemaking action and wise counsel. He blesses her for her good judgment in preventing him from taking revenge against Nabal. David tells Abigail, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.” With Abigail’s help, David passed this “test” related to his integrity and fitness to be king of Israel. David trusted God to take care of the situation, and He did.

When Abigail returned home, her husband “was holding a banquet like that of a king.” He became very drunk and went to bed. The next morning, when Abigail told Nabal what she had done, “his heart failed him and he became like a stone,” dying ten days later. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he asked Abigail to become his wife. She accepted and was welcomed into the soon-to-be royal family.

Flourishing Habit

Financial and Material Stability

In ancient times, wealth often consisted of livestock and servants. Huge flocks of sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, and camels required massive grazing areas and lots of human handlers to care for them. Sometimes, precious metals and large families also indicated “wealth.” Abraham “had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Genesis 13:2).

Perhaps it is not surprising that the Jews came to view material wealth as an expression of God’s favor. Of course, in today’s passage, that principle clearly does not apply. Nabal was very wealthy, but not because of his righteousness or God’s favor. In fact, Jesus’ parable of the rich fool seems to fit perfectly here.

In Luke 12:15-21, Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Good stewardship isn’t about how much you have, but what you do with what you have. It starts with realizing that everything belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 declares, “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” We are merely caretakers of whatever God has entrusted to us. We’re managers, not owners!

God expects us to be wise and responsible, to work hard, and to provide for our households. It is God who gives us the capacity and desire to be productive and contribute to the common good. Honest work done well is an act of worship!

God expects us to rely on Him to provide for us. Today’s Opening Prayer says, “Help me to trust you today to meet all of my needs.” When we become totally self-sufficient, we no longer depend on God. If we’re not careful, we can begin to imagine that we alone are the source of all our possessions.

God expects us to be generous and live life with “an open hand.” Blessed people bless people! We need to develop an attitude of freely receiving from God and freely sharing with others. We need to resist greed and hoarding. Abundance is not a license for self-indulgence.

Life is uncertain. The accumulation of wealth is unsatisfying. Being “rich toward God” reflects a wise and eternal perspective. Nabal’s selfish attitude was his downfall. Nabal refused to honor David’s request for provisions for his men, even in return for the protection they provided for Nabal’s sheep. In the end, David received all of Nabal’s possessions, including his wife.

As missionary Jim Elliot wrote in his journal before he died in Ecuador in 1956, quoting the words of 17th-century English pastor Philip Henry, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

How is your character being revealed by the way you steward your resources?

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!