I was going to try and write a reflection on this weekends services, but someone else has said it better than I ever could.

Some reflections on Psalm 3 – Conquering Fear:

Hi Andrew

I know I’m probably stating the obvious but thought I would send these thoughts. 

Absalom and  David: How not to deal with anger and the importance of forgiveness.

Absalom was angry because David did nothing to help his sister Tamar after she was raped by his half brother. This anger led Absalom to murder his half brother and plot against David. A good example of how anger can lead to sin and the consequences for Absalom was his death and David, as said last week, was upheld by God because he turned to God in humility and submission.

Absalom allowed his anger to fester, he became bitter and resentful and sought revenge but his revenge did not bring peace and happiness quite the opposite, it gave him grief, misery and ultimately death.

Our way to life is to bring our hurts to the cross to the only one who has the power to heal giving it to God and having a forgiving heart towards those who hurt us and leaving God to "punish" the aggressors as He is the only one who truly knows all sides.

As Absalom allowed resentment to colour his feelings it destroyed his relationship with his father which he was never able to restore.

Absalom’s life is an example of wasted years and broken hearts that can result when communication breaks down within a family and major issues are not dealt with effectively and decisively.  It also shows the consequences of allowing anger to turn to bitterness are hurts can never be healed while we harbour resentments.

As you might imagine I find the relationship between David and Absalom and the dysfunctional family of David very powerful but I do feel that it has a clear message of the damage of unforgiveness and the consequences of acting in anger and how destructive anger can be.

Anger has to be expressed safely so it can be used in a constructive manner as Ephesians 4 v26-27 says "Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil"

Circumstances or events can make us angry and we need to find ways to let go of the initial anger so it does not fester to destroy relationships

Again Ephesians 4 v31-32 Get rid of all bitterness rage anger harsh works and slander as well as all types of malicious behaviour. Instead be kind to one another tender hearted forgiving one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Just imagine how different Absalom and David’s relationship could have been if Absalom had been able to communicate effectively with David and David had listened and taken the appropriate action with his half brother and again though we aren’t told much about Tamar no doubt she felt rejected by David’s apathy!!

As you can probably tell David’s family strikes a deep chord in me.

Heather