³⁶ When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. ³⁷ Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. 
- 1 Samuel 25:36-37
 
As we close the week, we wanted to take a look at one more piece of this week’s text and highlight Abigail’s God-given courage.
 
A conflict between David and Nabal throws David into a murderous rage. Even our heroes lose their cool at times. Abigail, who is married to Nabal, intervenes. She skillfully redirects David, saving Nabal’s life and (perhaps) David’s destiny. She does this without receiving what we might consider adequate credit. See if you can follow this through the text …
 
Abigail brings supplies to David and his men in fulfillment of David’s original request, but she does this without telling her husband. She gives David five of Nabal’s three thousand sheep. Nabal might never have noticed they were missing.
 
This is where Abigail’s courage comes in.
 
She sits down with her hungover husband after his night of partying and tells him the story: David’s rage, the impending disaster, and her unilateral decision to intervene. She did this not knowing how Nabal would respond.
 
Nabal could have flown into a rage and beaten her (which wouldn’t have been uncommon in that time and culture). He could have mocked and shamed her. He could have thanked her and praised her in front of their whole household. All the evidence we know about him indicates that he was disinclined to do the latter. But Abigail spoke the truth to him anyway.
 
It takes courage to speak up. Abigail had enough courage to approach David, the famous stranger. But it might have taken even more courage to approach Nabal, the familiar lummox. 
 
Throughout the week’s narrative, the Lord is at work behind the scenes. He’s the main subject of Abigail’s dialogue with David. The Lord prevents Nabal from escalating the conflict after Abigail’s courageous intervention (see v. 38). And, according to David, the Lord deserves the ultimate credit for preventing David from murdering the people he’s supposed to be protecting (see v. 39). The Lord rewards and enables Abigail’s courage.
 
Where and in what relationships do you need to show courage this week? Ask the Lord to enable your courage. And don’t be shy in asking that your courage might be rewarded with results, protection, and blessing. The Lord is at work in our world.