12“It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.”
One of the hardest things to endure is having your character maligned. Every fiber of your being wants to jump and defend yourself against the false charges. David’s son is trying to steal the kingdom from his father. David could resist. He is a better warrior than his son. His troops are seasoned veterans. They can surely defeat this young upstart. But that would mean David would be going after his own son to kill him. What a choice! Kill my son, or be killed by him. Defend myself or run. So David runs away rather than kill his son. As David flees some disgruntled friends of Saul, the former king, take this opportunity to express their long-held resentment toward David. David could easily shut him up. He does, after all, have his fighters with him. But he doesn’t. He resists reacting negatively. David exercises restraint. He trusts the LORD to do justice. He is willing to wait for justice to happen. I don’t know about you, but I want justice right now! I don’t want to have to wait. But David is willing to wait. He also recognizes that he is not in charge. The LORD has a plan that might exclude him at this point. Are you willing to wait for the Lord to bring justice?
The Arnold Journey 