A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers   

 1 Samuel 25:39, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach.” Playwright and U.S. Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce (1903–1987) once said, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Sadly, it sometimes seems as if this aphorism is true. David, soon to be king of Israel, had an experience that corroborates this idea. While hiding from Saul, he and his men watched over the property of a rich landowner named Nabal. But later, when David asked a favor of Nabal, he was met with scorn. “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has,” said David. “He has repaid me evil for good” (1 Sam. 25:21). Before David could carry out revenge, Nabal’s wife intervened and kept David from acting rashly. Soon, God struck Nabal dead (v.38). Then David praised God for keeping him from evil and for returning “the wickedness of Nabal on his own head” (v.39). Perhaps you’ve had an experience when kindness was repaid with ingratitude, a generous gift was treated as an entitlement, and kind actions were interpreted as an attempt to control, or well-intended advice was received with scorn. David’s story reminds us that even when it seems as if we’re being repaid with evil for doing good, we don’t have to take matters into our own hands; we can trust God with the outcome. Jesus taught us in Matthew 7:12, “Whatsoever you would that men do to you, do you even so to them.” Now it is clear, Jesus never promised that they would do the same back to us. But Paul further clarifies in Ephesians 6:8, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord.” It is not the one we do good to, that will reward us, but our reward for doing good to others comes from the Lord. The lesson is simple—continue to do good, despite what you receive from others, knowing that ultimately, God will fully reward you by His grace, for this and each new day.