People we meet during our troubled times [Part-1] ..

We all have troubles and problems to face in our lives. Maybe these problems are what make our lives more exciting. Sometimes, problems arise due to our own foolishness or carelessness, while at other times, they may occur to teach us important lessons. Regardless of the problems we face, our Father in heaven takes care of everything. “My Help comes from the Lord who made heaven and the earth.”

We need to be careful where we place our hope and refuge. Our hope should be in God himself because “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” However, God does not always perform supernatural miracles; instead, He may prepare some people to help us. Let’s see some people David met when he faced one of greatest trouble. Absalom, David’s son revolted against his father, and David had to flee the palace barefoot.

People who take advantage of the situation

Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favour in your eyes, my lord the King.” 2 Samuel 16:4

As David was fleeing from Absalom, Ziba came to meet him with two hundred loaves of bread and other gifts for David’s household and his men. Ziba was a steward of Mephibosheth, who was the grandson of Saul and son of Jonathan. Ziba actually betrayed Mephibosheth and lied to David in the hope of getting all that belonged to his master. He tried to win David’s heart by his gifts and show his loyalty to him.

Sometimes in our lives, too, we find people who want to take advantage of our situations. In our vulnerable times, they may come as an aid, but they do have some hidden agenda. They will trust you, even they will encourage you to come back strong. Just like Ziba, who had the chance to prove his allegiance to Absalom, but he chose David because somewhere Ziba knew that God would bring back David to Jerusalem, and He would be king once again. Sometimes our enemy does know what the ultimate outcome would be, but they will do anything to take adavantage of the situation.  

As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left.  2 Samuel 16:5,6

Unlike Ziba, Shimei underestimated David. He thought it was the end of David’s era. Hence, when David returned, Shimei was one of the first to meet him. He fell prostrate before King David. Sometimes these problems come to reveal some of the Shimei’s from our lives. They may think it’s our end, but when we rise again, they would be the first ones to hurry to touch our feet.

The lesson we need to learn from David’s life is that we need to forgive those who wrong us in our troubled times. But forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. We should always note those who wronged us and deal with them with wisdom. When David returned, he learned about the actions of Ziba and Shimei but chose to forgive them. However, he made sure to remember what they had done and warned his son Solomon, who later dealt with them accordingly.

People who are helpless but want to help in any way..

Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the King. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his moustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. 2 Samuel 19:24

Mephibosheth was the person betrayed by Ziba. David was led to believe that Mephibosheth was an ungrateful man who wanted to see his ruin. But to his surprise, Mephibosheth was actually mourning and yearning for the return of the king in his own way. He was lame because, when he was five years old, news of Saul and Jonathan’s death reached his nurse, who fled with him but accidently dropped him, causing him to become crippled for life. Despite being neither a great warrior nor a great official, Mephibosheth wanted to go with David. Fleeing from the palace had left him crippled in the past yet he forgot the past trauma of fleeing and wanted to flee with David.

Sometimes in life, there may be some people who are yearning for our rise, when we fall. People like Mephibosheth cannot always help us directly, but they may pray and fast for us in their own way. These individuals may go unnoticed, yet they do their part to support us.

Hence, in times of difficulty, some people may take advantage of our situation and curse us, while others may fast and pray for us. Sometimes, we hear the clinking sound of the arrows in the QUIVER OF GOD.