All Things Are Possible

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

2 Sam 14:18-22

18 Then the king said to the woman, "Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you." "Let my lord the king speak," the woman said. 19 The king asked, "Isn't the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God — he knows everything that happens in the land." 21 The king said to Joab, "Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom." 22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant's request."

NIV

We have not yet come to the conclusion of this story about David, Joab, and Absalom, but we are faced with several truths within the words of this woman who spoke to King David. First, was David just that smart, to know that Joab brought this woman and gave her the words to say so that he would relent about avenging the death of Amnon on Absalom, or was that truth revealed to him by the LORD? We would believe it was the LORD, as we know how Lord Jesus used these kinds of parallels in stories to make a point. Secondly, this woman said that David had the wisdom like that of an angel of God, that he knew everything that happened in the land. This is prophetic about our Lord Jesus because he knows everything that happens in this land, or the earth. Thirdly, we see this petition laid out before the king, for the express reason of getting a change made in the present situation. We could see this as prophetic in some sense. First, that we can lay out our petition before our Lord, the King of kings, so that he might make a change in our present situation. That could be our sickness, or infirmity, or some change in our service to him, or our financial situation. There are so many ways our situation might need to be changed, but then we also know that our Lord is Sovereign and his way will always be best. In that case, we should learn to be content in whatever situation, yet Jesus told us to ask him anything, and as the words of David are just as prophetic, Jesus says if we ask in his name, he will say, “Very well, I will do it”. We can come to our Lord because he wants us to come to him in faith, believing that what we ask for will be done. We cannot have doubts or disbelief, thinking that he can do it, but will he do it? He said, Ask and he will do it. We know that a father asked Jesus to drive out the evil spirit from his son. He said if you can do anything, and Jesus said, somewhat snarky, “If you can?” then he said, “Everything is possible for him who believes”. There it is, everything is possible, we need only believe. Through this woman, Joab got David to change his heart; he believed it was possible because he knew his king. We know our King, and we know that all things are possible if we believe.