SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 13-14; Matthew 24

Just then, Jonadab, [David’s] brother Shimeah’s son, stepped up. “My master must not think that all the young men, the king’s sons, are dead. Only Amnon is dead. This happened because of Absalom’s outrage since the day that Amnon violated his sister Tamar. So my master, the king, mustn’t make things worse than they are, thinking that all your sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

2 Samuel 13:32-33

OBSERVATIONS: “Only” seems an insult in this passage. Yes, more deaths would have been worse, but the loss of a son seems unbearable to me. David’s hardness is on display here, that his nephew could speak this way without reproach.

APPLICATION: Joey, there are worse things. Whatever you face, the difficulty is matched and overshadowed by countless other atrocities. Keep perspective and know that God goes with you through it all.

PRAYER: God, keep me from despair. Prevent me from thinking that this day or any other is “The Worst” when so many others have it worse than do I. I ask it in the name of the One whose suffering made me whole. Amen.