When God interrupts, do you listen?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

In yesterday's devotional, we saw that Abigail interceded for Nabal's foolishness. Let's see if her charming approach works with David in 1 Samuel 25:32-35:

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.” — 1 Samuel 25:32-35

Have you ever felt the weight of a confrontation and felt tempted to take matters into your own hands? Heated moments cloud our judgment and make it hard to see what God wants to do because we are too focused on what we want to do.

In this text, David is hot. He is about to make a grave mistake. He is about to slaughter all the men of Nabal's house at the celebration of the year. But Abigail intervenes. And instead of ignoring her intervention, David interprets it as God's intervention. If you have been reading the story with me, there is an about-face in his attitude and actions. He goes from proclaiming acts of vulgarity to proclaiming a threefold blessing: A blessing to the Lord. A blessing for her wise discretion. And a blessing on her.

You need this type of intervention in your life sometimes, especially when you are hot. We all do. But when the intervention shows up, you must see it, receive it, and change.

Since many of you have been following me for a while through 1 Samuel, this again is one of those instances in which we see God's wisdom in choosing David. David was willing to see God's intervention and adjust his intention.

As you face the challenges of today, be open to God’s voice through the people he places in your path. When tempers flare and stress mounts, don’t hesitate to pray for God's intervention. Then, when God intervenes, be willing to accept the interventions that interrupt your intentions. Don't plow over people and miss a prophetic voice from God. If you ignore these prophetic whispers, you might miss God's redirect and do something you regret.

#Intervention, #DivineWisdom, #ListeningToGod

1. How can you better recognize and respond to God’s interventions in your life during challenging moments?
2. Who in your life embodies the wisdom of Abigail, guiding you toward God’s will?

Pray for divine interruptions in anger and stress.

Lord, help me to recognize Your voice through the people You place in my life, especially in moments of anger or frustration. Grant me the humility to accept divine interventions that guide my actions and intentions. Amen.

Interruptions (Comedy by Mark Lowry)