Today’s passage comes from the book of 2 Samuel and tells the story of King David.

Before we enter into the Word, I’d like to share two stories about car accidents my family experienced. Looking back at my life, these two incidents especially stand out in my memory.

The first one happened about 20 years ago. At that time, my wife and I were serving as missionaries in China. My wife was five months pregnant, and since the traveling conditions were too harsh for her, we decided she should stay at our fellow missionaries’ residence in Shanghai. Meanwhile, I was in Shandong Province, moving from one local church to another to preach the Gospel. I had been busy with ministry for about a month without any contact with her. I was staying at a sister’s house named Liu, traveling to nearby churches to share the Word.

One night, after I finished preaching and returned home, Sister Liu suddenly looked at me with a very serious and tense expression. “Brother Lee, please don’t be alarmed!” she said. Her words actually made me more anxious. “What on earth is going on?” I asked, trying to find out what had happened. She kept saying, “Please, don’t be shocked,” while I urged her, “Just tell me, quickly!” Finally, she told me that my wife had been in a car accident and was in the hospital. Since she was five months pregnant, both she and the baby were in a very dangerous situation. I was told the accident happened on the highway to the airport, and she had been thrown out of the vehicle. Because her injuries were so severe, I couldn’t help but be deeply worried.

But at the very moment I heard those words, a deep sense of gratitude welled up in my heart, and it actually came out of my mouth. “Lord, thank You!” These weren’t forced words; I truly felt that way from the bottom of my heart.

At that time, I was preaching the Word of God in many different places, and great transformations were happening in every church I visited. Many miracles were taking place, and those who were once in despair were finding new life. Most importantly, it was a crucial time when the message of “the Picture of God’s Will”—which our church understands so deeply—was just beginning to spread throughout China. There are evil spirits that try to hinder the work of God. From their perspective, they must have wanted to stop this ministry at all costs. If I were an evil spirit, I would certainly want to get in the way of this young man. By attacking his pregnant wife and causing him to lose both his wife and child, they could make him fall into total despair and give up his ministry altogether. Not only that, they would want him to resent God, crying out, “God, how could You do this to me?” and eventually collapse in discouragement and frustration. I realized that this was a scheme of the evil spirits. In a way, it was a very natural thing for them to do.

But would I resent God because of that? Of course not. I knew I would overcome. I would show my faith. I had total confidence that God would turn this situation into something good. Even though we were in a life-threatening crisis at that moment, I knew our God is the One who turns calamity into a blessing. Because I knew this, a thought flashed through my mind in less than a second—even before I could fully process the news that my wife was in critical condition. I thought, “I have won! Now those evil spirits will be put to shame! They rushed in to strike me, but they will stumble and fall, and their teeth will be shattered.” That is why the words “Thank You!” came out of my mouth so naturally. That night, while waiting for the bus, I prayed all night long. Instead of desperately pleading, “Please save my wife,” I spent the time giving thanks and praising God for the victory I already knew was coming.

The next morning, I took a bus and traveled all day to reach Shanghai. When I finally arrived at the hospital, I was told my wife had already been discharged and was back home. At first, I thought, “Oh, she must be okay then,” but that wasn’t the case at all. When I got home, I found her lying unconscious, her entire body covered in deep bruises and wounds. I was puzzled. “How could they let her leave the hospital in this condition?” As it turned out, because she was pregnant, she was worried that X-rays or CT scans might harm the baby. So, during a brief moment of consciousness, she had insisted on being discharged. That’s why the brothers and sisters who were with her followed the procedures and brought her home. At first, everyone tried to stop her. Even the hospital staff advised against it, saying she needed to stay longer for insurance purposes. They warned that if she left too soon, it might look like a minor issue, and the insurance company wouldn’t provide proper compensation. Despite everyone’s concerns, her mind was focused only on her baby. That was the only reason she was at home.

After asking everyone to leave, I prayed for my wife. The next day, after a deep sleep, she woke up looking much better than the day before. Another day passed, and by the third day, she was up and around—cooking meals, doing laundry, and taking care of me. She was completely fine. Her recovery was so remarkable, it was truly miraculous. In a way, I even felt that God might have allowed this to happen just to bring me back from so far away. I had left my pregnant wife alone in Shanghai for a whole month to preach the Gospel, and even when she said she missed me, I hadn’t returned. It felt as if God knew I wouldn’t come back any other way, so He allowed this situation to bring me home. Since then, she has had no lingering side effects at all.

Meanwhile, the hospital and those around me started contacting us, urging us to seek compensation from the taxi driver. It turned out that the accident happened while my wife was returning home after dropping a missionary off at the airport. The taxi driver had failed to see a car stopped on the highway and crashed right into it at 80 kilometers per hour. The impact was so great that my wife was thrown out of the taxi. Since it was clearly the driver’s fault, everyone said we should receive compensation. To do that, however, we needed medical certification from the hospital. I was even told that now that I, as her guardian, had arrived, it would be better to have her readmitted to the hospital to build a case for the claim.

So, what choice did I make? I was convinced that God would heal my wife. I believed, “This is a spiritual battle. The devil is using this man to attack me, but God will turn this into something good.” Now, does it make sense to have that kind of faith and, at the same time, demand compensation from the driver? If I believe everything is within God’s will, saying, “It’s your fault, so you must pay!” just doesn’t add up. To get a large settlement, my wife would have had to stay sick and hospitalized for a long time. But I was desperately praying for her to be healed right away! I couldn’t pray, “Lord, heal her immediately!” while simultaneously arguing, “My wife needs to stay in the hospital for a month for the insurance claim!”

God is not someone we can treat so casually, saying one thing while doing another. God works when He sees our faith. Because I truly believed that God would heal her, I didn’t ask for anything from the driver. I called him and simply said, “Everything is fine. You must have been so shaken by this, but please don’t worry.” People around me asked, “Are you a fool?” Even the hospital staff questioned why I was doing this. But I told them, “My wife’s health is what matters, not getting money. My wife will be healed by God, so please don’t worry about us.” Two days after I prayed with that conviction, my wife was up, doing house chores and cooking for me. To this day, she is doing wonderfully without any side effects. My faith and my actions were in harmony.

Why did I choose not to fight with that taxi driver and let him go? It was because I believed that God was with me. I believed that everything was within His will. Even if misfortune strikes because of our own mistakes, for those who walk with God, that misfortune can be turned into a blessing. We must acknowledge this truth. This is the very essence of a life lived in faith—it is what defines a believer in Jesus.

There was once a reporter who was the sole survivor of a plane crash on a deserted island. Everyone else had perished, leaving him alone amidst the wreckage and the sea. Having spent his entire life studying in the city, he knew nothing about wilderness survival. Can you imagine how difficult his life must have been? Yet, this man had faith. He thanked God and prayed constantly, believing that someone would eventually come to rescue him.

Step by step, he learned how to find food, make clothes, chop wood to build a fire, and construct a shelter. Although it took him days of repeated failure just to start a single fire, he eventually succeeded. He even managed to build a decent house out of branches and leaves. Dozens of days passed in this way.

But one night, a strong wind blew, and a stray spark from his fire landed on his house. He woke up to the intense heat, only to find his home surrounded in flames. He barely managed to escape with his life. At that moment, he couldn’t take it anymore. He burst into tears and began to resent God. “God, what do You want me to do? How could You let even this burn down? How am I supposed to survive without a home? I have no strength left…” It was the first time he had ever turned his heart against God.

But right at that moment, from somewhere in the distance, he heard the loud blast of a ship’s horn—”Honk! Honk!” That very day, a ship arrived and rescued him. Why did this happen? It turned out that a passing vessel had seen the rising smoke, drawn closer to investigate, and found him. “If only I had waited a little longer… if only I hadn’t resented Him and just held on…” he thought. He didn’t realize it at the time, but what looked like a disaster in the moment had actually been turned into his salvation. God had turned a disaster into something good.

The Bible says, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” Even when something appears to be a misfortune, those who believe that God is with them trust that it will eventually result in something good. This faith is what leads us to victory. For those without God, misfortune simply continues as misfortune. Furthermore, even for those who want God to be with them, if they lack faith, they inadvertently limit God’s ability to work in that moment. When we complain, saying, “Where is God? Why is He doing this to me?” we end up restricting His work in our lives. Therefore, no matter the circumstances, we must never lose our heart of gratitude or fail to acknowledge that God is right here with us.

The second accident happened when the baby in my wife’s womb had grown up to be a third-grader. One evening, I received a phone call at my office. The caller asked if I was the boy’s father and told me to come to the hospital immediately. When I arrived, I saw my son with a man I didn’t know. They told me there had been a near-fatal accident. At first, my son looked fine on the outside, so I thought it wasn’t anything serious. However, as I heard the details of the accident, I realized it was much more severe than I had imagined. The driver was trembling with fear, my son’s face was pale and frozen with shock, and the doctor spoke with a very grave tone.

As I heard the details, I learned that while my son was walking, a delivery truck was reversing toward him. The truck didn’t have a backup alarm, so it moved silently. It struck my son, and he fell over while still wearing his backpack. The truck didn’t stop and kept backing up. My son had to scramble backward on his hands and knees to get away, almost ending up completely crushed under the vehicle. The tire had actually come right between his legs. There were tire marks on his pants, and his thighs were red and scraped. He was truly a split second away from being run over. It was a terrifying moment—he could have been seriously injured for life. I was absolutely stunned.

When people asked me, “What are you going to do with this man? How much compensation will you demand?” how do you think I reacted? To be honest, I wanted to fight. I felt like grabbing him by the collar and shouting, “How could you be so careless with someone’s precious child!” But my son was alive. God had saved him. As I listened further to what had happened, I learned how the truck finally came to a stop. A man was smoking a cigarette in front of a nearby auto repair shop. He saw the truck backing up and about to crush my son, so he ran over and pounded on the side of the truck. The driver stopped instantly at that very moment. The truck had stopped right as my son was caught underneath—what an incredible thing to be thankful for! I couldn’t help but confess, “This was surely God’s help.”

So, what would have been the point of fighting with this man? What would I gain by taking a few dollars from him? If that truck had moved just four more inches, no amount of money—whether it was two hundred thousand dollars or even two million dollars—could ever compensate for my son. The fact that he wasn’t hurt was the greatest blessing of all. So, once again, I told the driver, “It’s alright. Please don’t worry. You must have been so shaken up. You can go now.” I let him go because, once again, I believed that God was with us.

The more I thought about it, the more grateful I felt. At that time, I was a minister, and we didn’t have much. But I took all the living expenses we had in our bank account. It was only a few hundred dollars, but I went to the bank with my son and withdrew every bit of it. Then we went to the church. I handed the money to my son in front of the offering box and said, “God truly saved your life. Be thankful to Him. Offer this as your gift of gratitude.” After a prayer of thanks, we gave the offering.

As soon as the prayer ended, my son said, “Dad, my head feels so light. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” His face, which had been pale and frozen with shock, suddenly began to glow with life. Spiritually speaking, the evil spirit that had tried to kill him and was crushing his soul had finally left. That is why he said his head felt light and the pain was gone.

The evil spirit struck us on the cheek to attack us, but we didn’t just stand there. It was as if we swung back with a punch, saying, “Why did you hit me?” and knocked out all its teeth! In the same way, when we are struck by life’s trials, we shouldn’t complain, depend on people, or argue with others. Instead, when we rely on God, we emerge victorious. That is when blessings truly follow.

After that incident, our family was spiritually restored. We started to pray together. Before that, we used to just watch TV when we got home and were a bit lazy with our prayers. But after experiencing such a close call, we realized, “Wow, a person’s life could disappear in a single day.” Our family changed—we became a household that truly gives thanks, prays, longs for the Word, and relies even more on God. It was a total loss for the evil spirit! By attacking us, it actually lost its place in our home and had nowhere left to stand.

This is why we don’t fight back or confront people—it is because we acknowledge that God is with us. We do not strive against others. Even Jesus lived this way.

One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, was planning to betray Him and hand Him over to the chief priests and elders. Although Jesus knew this in advance, at the Last Supper, He dipped a piece of bread and gave it to Judas, saying, “What you do, do quickly.” As soon as Judas took the bread, he went out to betray Jesus. If it were us, we would have wanted to fight back, shouting, “You ungrateful man! How could you sell out your teacher!” But even though Jesus knew exactly what was happening, He chose not to fight back against him. Because of this, Judas went out and led the people to where Jesus was, and Jesus was arrested.

Why did Jesus act this way? It was because He knew His enemy was not a human being, but the devil. He understood that such things could never happen unless God allowed them, and He trusted that if God had permitted it, God would surely restore everything when the time was right.

When someone causes us pain, a believer in Jesus does not fight back. It is because we see that person as a “stick” being used by God. Where do you think God’s heart is focused? Is it on the stick, or on the child being disciplined? Because He loves His children, He may briefly use someone as a stick. It is only for a short time. When the time comes, after God has restored everything, He simply breaks that stick in two. There is no need to fight it. The stick is merely a temporary tool. Later, God will say, “You rod! How dare you hurt My child!” and He will snap it and cast it away. Through that very pain, He eventually brings about something good.

This is why those who walk with God can always have peace. Believing in Jesus doesn’t mean that suffering disappears from our lives. The world is full of pain. Since believers still live in this physical body, we also face attacks and feel our human limitations. Suffering is real. However, our attitude toward that suffering is completely different. In the midst of this pain, we can demonstrate our faith in God. God sees that faith and will ultimately lead us through death into His heavenly kingdom. This is because God has planned for heaven to be a place specifically for those who have shown such faith.

In today’s passage, King David was in a major crisis. Although he was the king, his own son, Absalom, had risen in rebellion against him. Absalom harbored great resentment toward his father, thinking, “My father is unfair and unfit to lead. I will take him down with my own hands!” Driven by this rebellion, David had no choice but to flee with a few of his faithful officials.

At that moment, everyone had to make a choice: “Should I follow the fleeing king, or should I welcome the new one?” Some packed their bags and fled with David, knowing they were choosing a path of great suffering. If they were caught, they would surely die. On the other hand, some chose to side with the rebel and attack David. As David was fleeing and reached a certain area, a man named Shimei, who held a deep grudge against him, saw the king from a distance. He began to hurl curses and throw stones at him. “Serves you right, David! You troubled our relative, King Saul, didn’t you? Now you are getting exactly what you deserve!” Usually, Shimei was a man of no importance, but seeing the king in such desperate trouble, he looked down on him and poured out his insults.

One of the generals standing by David’s side was outraged. “How can this man be so rude? Let me go over and take off his head!” he cried, ready to charge. But David was different. He stopped him, saying, “What have I to do with you? Let him alone. Let him curse me. If the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?'” David continued, “See how my own son, who came from my own body, seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? He is attacking me out of misunderstanding and resentment, but the Lord is watching all of this. It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day. So, let him alone.”

From a human perspective, David could have easily exploded in anger, thinking, “I’ve already lost my throne—how dare this dead dog insult me! Go and kill him at once!” But he didn’t. Instead, he firmly believed: “God is in control of everything. When His will is finally accomplished, He will restore me.” This absolute faith in God captured the Lord’s heart, and in the end, David’s kingship was restored.

Absalom, that fearsome son who had the whole nation behind him, seemed impossible to defeat. Yet, he met a surprisingly pathetic end. Absalom was famous for his good looks and his long, beautiful hair. While he was riding through the woods, his long hair got caught in the thick branches of a tree. His mule kept going, leaving him dangling in mid-air, unable to get down. Passing soldiers saw him and said, “Wait, isn’t that Absalom?” and that was it. Game over. It ended just like that—as if by a mere coincidence, in such a trivial way.

When God allows it, that is how things happen. Even if a problem seems too great for us to handle on our own, if God decides it’s over, it can end as simply as that—almost as if it were nothing. Knowing that God is in control of everything, David strove to seek His will. He endured, he never resented God, and he acknowledged His goodness to the very end. This is the kind of person who truly experiences the presence of God. Our God, the God we believe in, is exactly like this. That same God who worked so powerfully back then is meeting with each one of us right now, building a relationship with us, and helping us today.

Simply saying we believe in God with our lips is not enough. Truly acknowledge Him in your life. Then, you will experience Him. I bless you in the name of Jesus that as you experience God every day, His happiness, joy, and life will overflow in you and your descendants.

God our Father, we acknowledge that You are with us, and so we resolve not to resent others or fight back against them. Help us to acknowledge that You know everything. Grant us the assurance to know that because You are with us, You will work all things together for good when the time is right. When You discipline and refine us, help us to receive it with gratitude, striving to understand Your will and remaining obedient. O, such a good God, a God who will never forsake us—help us all to encounter You more passionately. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.