Beauty, Brains, and Bravery: Learning From Abigail

Take a minute and think of the kindest, wisest, and most brave person you know. Think of all the times you’ve seen this person pour out of themselves over and over. They don’t make excuses or allow others attitudes to stop them. They work hard and are always looking for ways to bless someone. Never complaining, never whining, and never stopping to think of themselves. Look at their lives and the way the fruit of the spirit shines through every aspect! This is the way the woman we’re going to talk about today, lived her life. She was a women with beauty, brains, and bravery. This is Abigail!

Introducing Abigail

Abigail was a woman who lived in Carmel. Her story can be found in 1 Samuel 25. The Bible describes her as, “intelligent and beautiful!” (Beauty and Brains) The man she was married to, Nabal, is described as, “surly and mean.” David and his men had protected and taken care of Nabal’s shepherds during shearing time. So David sent a few of his men to Nabal to remind him of this fact and to ask him if he could help them out now. Nabal’s reply was demeaning and harsh. When David’s men reported back David was angry and told his men to strap on their swords and he took off to go take care of Nabal. Well by this time Abigail had heard of what had transpired with her husband and David’s men.

Learning From Abigail

It says in verse 18 that Abigail acted quickly. She didn’t sit around and go through all the what if’s, she didn’t overthink the whole thing and just go to bed overwhelmed, she didn’t get angry back. Instead she prepared food and drinks and loaded everything onto donkeys and immediately took off to go meet David and his men. When she saw David, she got off her donkey, and fell at his feet. The words that came from her mouth after that were so wise, peaceful, graceful, and beautiful. (Verses 24 – 31) In my opinion it’s one of the most impressive speeches from a woman we see in God’s word. The example of kindness and courage shown by Abigail reminds me of the line from the 2015 Cinderella. “We must simply have courage and be kind.” Disney+ on Instagram: “Always have courage and be kind ✨ Cinderella is now streaming on @DisneyPlus.” Abigail’s bravery, by going to David and standing up for the truth, saved her entire household.

Beauty, Brains, and Bravery: Becoming Abigail

So learning all this about Abigail, how can we put this into practice in our lives so that we can be women like her? Let’s look at three of her character traits. Beauty, Brains, and Bravery.

Beauty

There is nothing wrong with taking time to look beautiful. The older I get the more I realize there’s so many examples in scripture of how God values and loves beautiful things! Just read 1 Kings 6-7 and all the detail and decor that went into the temple. However, there is so much more to beauty than our looks. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that “people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We can work on our actions and attitudes and the fruit shown in our lives. Those things can help us to be more like Abigail.

Brains

Abigail was wise and intelligent. She wasn’t someone who relied on others to make her decisions or inform her of what to do. She used that wisdom and discernment and took it upon herself to go save her household by bringing food and drinks to David. We should be constantly “growing in grace and knowledge,” as Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:18. And we always need to be prepared, “to give an answer,” as Peter also tells us in 1 Peter 3:15. Studying God’s word will help us stay wise and keep growing our knowledge and discernment.

Bravery

I can’t imagine getting on a donkey and taking a bunch of food to ANGRY men coming to kill me and my family. David’s reputation would’ve been quite well known at that time and he was known already as a warrior. Abigail didn’t let that stop her. She didn’t let fear inform her decision. She used wisdom in her words and bravely stood for the truth and begged David not to shed innocent blood in his anger. I pray I can be brave like Abigail. That I can stand up for what’s right without hesitation and speak for others if they can’t for themselves.

What a woman Abigail was, and I’m so thankful her story is in the Bible for us to learn from! So let’s keep growing with beauty, brains, and bravery.