Now do it!

Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, "In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you. Now then, do it! For the LORD has spoken of David, saying, 'By the hand of My servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.' " - 2 Samuel 3v17-18

Good old Abner. He didn’t just talk Joab out of further conflict, but he went further to end the conflict in the nation. He knew that David was God’s choice to be king. Apparently everyone had agreed at one time, but Saul’s men had rebelled and refused to allow David to be king over the tribe of Benjamin and a few other regions. Abner had originally fought for Saul’s men and tried to negotiate a peace settlement, but no one listened to he deserted to King David’s side.

From his new position he continued to lobby for peace and unity. He reminded Israel that in the past they had acknowledged David’s right to be king. The answer was simple – ‘Now then, do it! Stop putting it off. God had already told us that David would be the one to deliver all of us from our enemies.’

Abner set out to go and carry out the task, to bring everyone into line. We will pick up that tragic story tomorrow.

There is a lesson here for us. Many times we have something that we know needs to be done. We are convinced, we know it is what God wants, but we just keep putting it off. Procrastination takes over and we never seem to get to it.

We would do well to heed Abner’s word. ‘Now then, do it!’

What do we need to do today?