Abigail -- God is here, even in a bad situation

I think we would be making an understatement if we said that Abigail was in a bad situation in her marriage to Nabal. My grandma would have said she was between a rock and a hard place.

Got the picture?
I thought you would! (Grin)

We've noted that if it were possible (remember, it was not like today, where a woman can initiate divorce proceedings) she might have wanted to get a divorce. Just get away from Nabal. Far away. But that wasn't an option, and we don't even know if she considered leaving, or running away.

Abigail could easily slipped into withdrawal and depression, too. She could have become timid and blue. Maybe even fall into the trap of looking for someone to place blame on. She could have blamed her parents, if they arranged her marriage. She could have blamed herself, thinking that she just hadn't tried hard enough, or that she provoked Nabal. She could even have fallen into the trap of blaming God. Her circumstances could have affected her faith in God.

Not Abigail!
Look at what she said to David:

 “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, 31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.” (I Samuel 25:28-31)

See where she says "the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty..."? Does she sound like a person who has allowed her difficult circumstances to drag down her faith and trust in the almighty God? Nope!
She sounds like a person who has complete trust in her God. Look at verse thirty......she doesn't say "if" God does this and that. She says "when" he does! That is a woman who is confident in the God Who cares for her life and Who guides her as she navigates her troubled marriage.

We can't read a lot of background information on Abigail. The Bible is silent on a lot of things about her. We didn't know for sure how she came to this difficult marriage. We don't know if she was faithful in worship and sacrifices. We don't know about her prayer life. But we can look at her words here and assume that her relationship to God was strong. We can see that she used that relationship with God as a resource, a means of support in helping her survive day to day in this marriage. She gained wisdom and patience as she relied on God.

Abigail had firsthand knowledge that even in a bad situation, God is there. He's not looking the other way. He hasn't moved on to take care of someone else. He is there. And just like Abigail, we can lean on God, and ask Him to help us survive our daily struggles.

Let's hop over to the New Testament for a second:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side,but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (II Corinthians 4:7-9)

Did I lose you? (Grin) Here is my point . . . we have great treasure from God. But we humans are so easily disheartened, so prone to depression, well, just so human! We are like clay jars holding that treasure. The treasure and the power is from God -- not from us.
We have troubles all around, but with Him, we're not defeated.
We may not have a clue what is happening, or what we should do, but with Him, we still have hope for living.
We may be persecuted, but with Him, we have assurance that He'll never leave us.
We may be hurt, but with Him, we are not destroyed.
Here is something else that the Spirit prompted Paul to write:

And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (I Corinthians 7:13-14, 16)

Abigail was never able to change her husband. But the important thing is that she never gave up. She didn't forget that even in a bad situation, God is here for us! And God continued to work in her life.

We've learned a lot from Abigail so far -- tune in tomorrow, cos she has one more lesson for us!

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,    and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts;    their feet do not slip. (Psalm 37:30-31)