Don't be afriad!

There is more to the story of Ahimaaz than just the fact that he needed to run.  He did indeed run the King David carrying the news. But an interesting thing happened when he got there.  Joab had sent a man from Cush on ahead of Ahimaaz, but our favorite biblical runner took a short cut and got there first.

The watchmen saw a man running and reported it to the king. They could tell by his gait that he was Ahimaaz and declared that he was a good  man so must be bringing good news. When Ahimaaz entered the gates he told the king that "All is well!" Sounds like good news to me, but we know that he knew that all the news wasn't so peachy.  What strikes me here is that Ahimaaz wanted to run with this news, he asked for the chance, begged for it even. But when his big moment came, he lost courage.

King David then asked specifically about Absalom and Ahimaaz lied. He said he didn't know what had happened in all the confusion. By now the runner from Cush is there to give the rest of the story. King David is shattered to learn of the loss of his son, but I don't find any record of the messengers being punished for bringing the tragic news. My commentary only states that Ahimaaz was afraid to tell the king the truth. 

Again, I can identify with Ahimaaz. He pleaded for a shot and when he got what he wanted, he choked at his big moment. Doesn't that happen to all of us? We pray and our prayers are answered, but then we are afraid to take the next step. We are blessed and blessed again, but still feel anxious. We have one huge advantage over Ahimaaz, though. We have the words of Jesus. Repeated so often that He must really mean it, (Matt. 10:31, Matt. 14:27, Matt. 17:7, Mark 5:36) "Don't be afraid."

Don't be afraid to tell people bad news. Don't be afraid of training for a marathon. Don't be afraid to blog about running. Don't be afraid to take your chance once you get it, whatever that chance may be for you. 

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