So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence. 2 Samuel 14:28 – Absalom, one of King David’s sons, murdered his brother after his brother violated his sister. His father, the king, did nothing about the violation, so Absalom took justice into his own hands. Yet after the murder Absalom flees to a neighboring land to some relative to hide out and escape punishment. He is there three years, then after the events we read about in our chapter today returns to the royal city of Jerusalem. As we see though from our verse above, he didn’t return to open arms of reconciliation. Absalom spent two more years in the city without coming before his father the king to heal and make things right. Five years went by without reconciliation, and do you know what grew as a result of that extended time? Bitterness. Absalom grew more and more bitter at his father for how he handled this whole situation and grew more justified in his actions. Such bitterness would lead the terrible events that follow in the next few chapters, and much could have been resolved if reconciliation was sought quickly. Do not let years go by to find healing with someone. Do not let months, weeks, days, or even hours go by. What grows within that time of brokenness is nothing healthy for any relationship. All we see grow are things like bitterness, hatred, and disgust. Absolutely it is difficult to initiate talks of reconciliation, especially if you feel you weren’t the one who caused the divide. God makes it clear in scripture that His heart is for us to reconcile and seek peace as far as we can find it. Whether we created the divide or not, we are called to begin the healing and called to begin now. Don’t allow the enemy to further the divide by waiting to reconcile. Make the selfless choice today to set aside the bitterness and seek out that first conversation for healing. Let this story between David and Absalom be proof that waiting to reconcile is never the right choice. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3033
Question To Ponder: Why do people choose to wait to reconcile?
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