“If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.” (Ecclesiastes 10:4)
David was trained to keep his spirit from overreaction in the court of a crazy king. Out of nowhere, javelins were being flung at him. The same David had just cut Goliath down to size; surely he could have done the same to Saul. Again and again, when he had the opportunity to take vengeance on the king, he held his spirit in check, and committed his cause to God. But in another setting, he was tempted to do the very opposite of this. Nabal had repayed his good with evil, treating him and his men shamefully. Now, his spirit rose up to deal with the scorning ingrate. But for the blessed interception of Abigail, Nabal’s godly wife, David would have had a lasting blemish on his life. (1 Sam. 25:23-35)
It is a common reflex to counterattack when we are attacked, to arise in our own militant spirit when we perceive someone is against us, or has wronged us. We are naturally prone to repay evil with evil. But such is the snare of Satan. Abigail warned David of the condemnation he would fall into if he took matters into his own hands. She reminded him of his wise and godly approach with king Saul and encouraged him to continue to let the Lord fight his battles. Her sobering words arrested him and brought him back to his right mind. “And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.” (1 Sam. 25:32,33)
It was not Paul, but David, who first wrote: “be angry, and sin not” (Ps. 4:4) On many an occasion, this man after God’s heart had to find God’s strength to control his emotions and let God arise on his behalf. When we arise, God sits down and lets us handle a matter in our own strength and wisdom. But the expression of our wrath never works God’s righteousness. We end up making a bad matter worse. Being slow to wrath creates space for us to seek God and handle a matter wisely. “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.” (Prov. 14:29)
Do yourself and everyone around you a great favor. When your spirit is tempted to rise up, tell it to sit down, and let God arise.
“Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.” (Psalm 68:1)