2 Samuel 16: Endurance

¹¹ David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. ¹² It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.” -2 Samuel 16:11-12

As David fled Jerusalem, Shimei treated him with vulgarities and disrespect. David’s protectors wanted to kill the man. David didn’t. Why not?

David had already been betrayed by his son and had not sought his death. Why would he do so for a man committing a lesser crime? In his mind, “It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

Like David, we will likely face some criticism today. The level may vary, the kind of accusations may differ, but the problem is the same. How does God Word advise us to respond?

In a word–endurance. This is not the only solution, but it is one calling God has given us in dealing with the criticisms others send our way. We don’t always need to retaliate or even ignore. Often, we must simply endure.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.