It's about the ADE, not the lemons

"Wow!  Now that's family drama!"  I wondered if this had been the basis of a movie or surely some soap opera writers have used this story.  I even "googled" it.  I was off on one of my "sidebar" investigations after reading Psalm 3.  

The subtitle for Psalm 3 is "A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom".  I remembered how it ended for Absalom but not the details prior.  I read through 2 Samuel 13-19.  Talk about a soap opera.  This was raw family drama.  Brother dishonoring sister.  Brother getting revenge a few years later.  Son lusting after father's throne, power and women.  Son chasing father from throne.  War among family factions.  Rebellious son dies as a result of his pride.  (Absalom had a great head of hair.  He was very proud of it.  During his final battle, his long beautiful hair became tangled in a tree leaving Absalom hanging in an oak tree vulnerable to his enemies.)

My initial thought reading David/Absalom story was "All my troubles pale in comparison."  Then  I read the psalm again with that perspective.  During the peak of the drama, when Absalom had David on the run, David gave me advice to face my own drama, tragedy, crisis, oppression, fear, anxiety or doubt:

1.  God is my shield. 

2.  God is my answer.

3.  God will give me rest.

4.  God will deliver me.

5.  God will give me victory.

In the midst of this episode in David's colorful life, he adopted the ADE perspective instead of the "Why me?" perspective.   Too much of the world chooses the focus of  the victim rather than focus on the eternal.

You've heard the advice  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonADE?"  Here's what ADE means to me now:

A ssurance in God

D ependence on God

E ternal perspective

A couple of my Facebook friends have lived out ADE.  One experienced a tragic loss.  The other is struggling with a difficult diagnosis.  Both have been honest in the pain, suffering and confusion.  Both have demonstrated assurance in God, dependence on God during their difficult time, and trust in God's future for them.

I don't want be engulfed in my "self-contrived" drama and lose everything because of my pride (or my hair).  Psalm 3 reminds me  God alone is my shield, my glory and my only hope. (Psalm 3:3 Living Bible).

It's about the ADE, not the lemons.