II Samuel 10:2 “Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.”
Sometimes we can misread a person’s intentions. For instance, if someone you suspected of holding a grudge against you sent you a birthday cake, would you eat it? If someone you owed $1000 gave you $1000, would you happily take it? In either case, you would probably suspect evil intentions, no matter how generous or thoughtful!
As king, David began to do good to people since he had the authority and resources to do so. For example, David showed kindness to Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth (chapter 9). If I were Mephibosheth, I would have been a little nervous! I wouldn’t expect kindness from the guy that my grandpappy tried to kill!
My attention was drawn to another story of misread intentions in chapter 10. David decided to show kindness to Hanun, the king’s son in a neighboring country. The only problem was, Hanun suspected otherwise! David’s intent was to “comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father” because “his father shewed kindness to me.” David’s intentions were pure, but it seemed too good to be true in Hanun’s eyes.
Hanun shamed the servants of David and sent them back home. He must have realized his mistake in misreading David’s intentions because, as the Bible says, “the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David. . . .” Hanun (and the Syrian army he hired) paid a heavy price in battle for simply misreading David’s original intention. How sad!
While we could learn much about misreading people’s intentions, I was reminded this morning how we as Christians sometimes misread God’s intentions. God gives us more good and sends more help than we may realize! You can always know that God’s way is perfect and that He makes no mistakes. Don’t misread God’s intentions toward you today!
Sometimes we underestimate God’s grace in our lives. God doesn’t show kindness to you because you are good; He shows you kindness because He is gracious. He doesn’t show grace for your sake; He shows grace for His sake!
Sometimes we respond defensively to God, as if He were our enemy. Like Hanun, we can push away and respond incorrectly to the very person who is trying to help! It is silly to treat God like an enemy you don’t trust and respond defensively. Live today in complete confidence, knowing that God is good and His intent toward us is always good. No matter what comes today, you can rest assured that God is orchestrating it all for your good and His glory.