Wednesday Scripture and Prayer: 2 Samuel 23
Valuing People More than Comfort
---------------
David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David.
But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord.
“Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?”
And David would not drink it.
---------------
Everyone loves comfort food.
Sometimes the greatest comfort of all is a cup of cool water from home.
Many times during David's reign he looked more like a desperado than a monarch.
He knew the Lord would always work it out, but it might take a while.
In the meanwhile, he had to practice radical social distancing--living in the hills and hollows and staying in caves.
At times like that you long for the comforts of home.
As a shepherd boy he learned to find water in the wilderness.
But stagnant water is a poor substitute for water from a cool, clear well.
That cup of water was a magnificent gift--but it could have come at a terrible price.
David wasn't about to put his own comfort above the safety of his friends.
As our Commonwealth enters stage 3 restrictions today, I confess, I am SICK of all the precautions and rules and restrictions.
I long for the comforts of familiar freedoms.
But we're still in a long term battle here, and people around us are still more important than our own comfort.
God's gonna work all this out.
But the people who love us are still the greatest gift of all.
Let's put them ahead of our comfort.
---------------
Fill my cup Lord
I lift it up Lord
Come and fill this thirsting of my soul
Bread of heaven, feed me til I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.