When You Get Squeezed…

At the beginning of 2022 I started studying a scripture that has come to mean a lot to me…

Colossians 3:12

“Since God chose you to be the Holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

As I was thinking about this verse a few things stood out to me. One, God chose us. I love that it was never me who did the chasing. He has and will always be the chaser. What a comforting thought that I was wanted from the very beginning of my journey, because I’ll be honest with you… I haven’t always felt wanted or chosen. Sometimes by family, friends and even other followers of Jesus, but how wonderful it is to be chosen by the Creator of the universe.

The second thing that I’ve thought about are the attributes God asks us to clothe ourselves with… tender hearted mercy, kindness, humility… And in the moment I read that, I knew just who I wanted to be. I want to be the person who is full of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patient… I want to be just like Jesus. Even when others don’t treat me that way and knowing that I haven’t always been that way.

Some translations say to “put on” these things, others say “clothe yourselves”. We’re supposed to put these things on, just like we put on our regular clothes. So, I started thinking about getting dressed each day. Every morning I get dressed and I simply put on my clothing. It’s not a chore, it’s not difficult, I get to choose what I wear and I do it daily.

That seems really easy, to just put these attributes on, like I’m getting dressed, right? But, the trouble I run into is when I get a little “squeezed.” When I hit a hard time in my life, or something doesn’t go my way… those things seem to come right off and some not very nice things come out. Maybe a little anger or I get a little cranky (or sometimes a lot cranky). HMPH!

Oh how I pray for the wisdom from above…

James 3:17-18:

“The wisdom from above is first of all pure, peace loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. Full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows not favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will sow seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Another verse that reminds me who I want to be.

When I get squeezed or when I am in tough circumstances, what comes out isn’t always what I like to see. And you can tell the condition of your heart when your heart gets squeezed. What comes out of toothpaste when it gets squeezed? Toothpaste. Well, what comes out of you when you get squeezed? Me too. I’ve got a lot of heart work to be done. Good thing I’m in a relationship with the heart changer. I can go to Him and He’s going to be the One to make my heart just like His word says. I can’t wait.

When I think about who I want to be I am reminded of Abigail from 1 Samuel 25…

Abigail…

Before King David was king, he had an army of about 600 men and they moved to a town called Moan. A man named Nabal lived there. Nabal (who’s name means fool) was crude and mean. He was a rich man and owned thousands of sheep and goats. While David was in Nabal’s land, his army never touched the sheep or goats, nor did they destroy or use anything of Nabal’s. As a matter of fact, they protected Nabal’s land and animals by creating a wall of protection around them.

When the time came to sheer the sheep and goats there was often a celebration held. So David went to Nabal and asked if he and his men could participate in this celebration and enjoy the food and festivities.

Because of Nabal’s foolishness, he responded with such disrespect toward David. He called him an outlaw and a deserter of the King. (Now, we all know how word spreads, so I’m sure that Nabal had heard about David and knew that he had been chosen as King by God through Samuel. So, that retort was a very low blow.)

Well, this upset David very much that he gathered 400 of his men (leaving 200 behind to protect their camp) and he decided to go to war with Nabal.

Now, here comes the cool part. Nabal’s wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful women.

As soon as Nabal’s servants heard that David’s army was coming, they ran to Abigail and told her what had happened. They knew they could trust her to do something reasonable, unlike Nabal- who was very unapproachable.

Abigail quickly gathered food and lots of it. Two hundred loaves of bread, wine, five slaughtered sheep, raisins, roasted grains and two fig cakes. She headed off towards David, without telling her husband a thing.

As soon as Abigail and her servants saw David, she quickly got off her Donkey and bowed down to David. She told David that she was so sorry for her husbands foolish actions and that she would take all the blame for them. She also respected David by praising him and his actions. And to top it off she humbly counseled him to not take vengeance in his own hands, so that when he becomes King, he wouldn’t have this on his record. She then blessed him as King and told him she believes the Lord is with Him.

When David heard all of this, he gave thanks to her for being so sensible and for her wise counsel. David accepted her gifts and then went on his way without laying a finger on any of her household or servants.

When Abigail returned home Nabal was celebrating, so she waited until the morning to tell him what happened. When she did tell him, he had a stroke and died 10 days later.

When David heard that Abigail’s husband had died, he asked her to marry him. She said it would be an honor, she would even be willing to be his slave washing his servants feet.

We can see how Abigail’s actions portrayed who she is in her heart and in the relationships God put in her life. Oh how I long to be like her when I get a little squeezed. We can also see David’s reactions when he was squeezed a little too. Thank goodness he had some good counsel around him.

We see so many of God’s desired attributes that Abigail put on…

• She knew who she was. She was chosen by God to deliver the news to David.

• She had strength through God. It must have been scary to go towards David and beg for forgiveness so her people would be saved. (Reminds me of Esther.)

• She was so humble. She displayed great humility as she went towards David and said she was willing to be his slave… that is humility speaking straight from her heart.

• She was vey influential. She was trusted by her people, because the minute they were in trouble, they went towards her for help. She was approachable.

• She loved and cared for others. She was willing to sacrifice herself by going forward to beg for forgiveness.

• She was obedient, and God blessed her by making her David’s wife. She went from being married to a foolish man, to being married to a future King.

We also see God protecting Abigail as she trusted in Him when she went toward David while he was so angry. She had to have known God and had a personal relationship with Him in order to trust Him like that.

We can watch what happens through Abigail when we put on the characteristics that God calls us to. As she was going about life, struggles or not… these attributes came out in the way she lived and they blessed her life.

What comes out when you get squeezed a little? When a trial comes your way?

Is it trust that God’s got you?

Is it anger or love?

Is it humility or foolishness?

The cool part is God gives us everything we need to do the job He’s called us to do (2 Peter 1:3). We have these qualities within us because we have His Spirit within us…we just need to tap into them and put them on every day.

Ultimately, we have to choose it. Everyday when we wake up we can choose to put these things on (just like we do our clothes). Then after we choose them, we need to practice them just like the Word says…

Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

We need to choose and practice to be just who God tells us to be. (And we know what that is by reading His word.) The more we walk in the Spirit and choose all that’s in God’s Word, the more we become like Christ every day, even when we are squeezed. Right?

Abigail got squeezed and look what came out… what comes out of you?

Blooming Challenge: Every day choose to put on tender hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience and continue to practice it. How how wonderful His word is.

Encouraged reading-

Colossians 3:12

James 3:17-18

1 Samuel 25

2 Peter 1:3

Philippians 4:9