April 28, 2025 -Which Way Will You Choose?

2 SAMUEL 15:1-17:14

Chronological Bible Readings

2 Samuel 15:2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”

5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. 6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.

This reminds me of the game that we played last night with the youth group on retreat. God gave the idea for it to one of the students while we were in a study session. It required the kids to figure out how to get to heaven. They went out into the darkness of the world and interacted with people. Some who were angels in disguise that were there to help them. As well as others who were agents of the devil that were there to deceive them and distract them from their attempts to develop their faith and grow closer to God. The student who was given the idea for the game got to play one of the demons along with myself. He was amazed at how easy it was to misdirect them and put them on a completely different path than they needed to be on. He even deceived one of the youth and convinced them to help us to stop the others. It was amazing how this paralleled the reality of the spiritual battle that goes on in the real world. When we look at Absalom we see him lying and doing all he can to deceive and misdirect all of his father's people. That is what the enemy does all the time. Just like in our game the people who knew the truth about Jesus, what the bible says about Him, the devil and how to get to heaven recognized the lies of the enemy quickly and turned from them, and those who knew the truth about king David and Absolom and were faithful to the king were not deceived and followed him even when it meant leaving their home and being uncomfortable.

The better that we know our King Jesus and the truth of His word the easier it is to recognized the lies of the enemy. The easier it is to turn from them and follow Jesus even when it is not easy.

This weekend of study, games and now these verses also reminds me of the Randy Travis song "Which Way Will You Choose?". Will you choose the path that looks comfortable and easy and looks like it will take you to exactly where you want to be or do you choose the path that will take you where you need to be even though it may be uncomfortable and difficult?