“David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”” 2 Samuel‬ ‭12:22-23‬

Although he was called a man after God’s own heart, David was far from the stellar example of spiritual or political leadership that any of us would aspire to.

His statements above, come as a result of a scandal he caused that would rival any political or religious scandal today. David had an affair with a married woman who got pregnant. He murdered her husband to try to cover up his actions.

Then, when confronted by a prophet of God, David was informed that the baby would get sick eventually die. God keeps his word. When the baby became sick David went into a state of mourning. He fasted. He prayed. He wept. He begged God for mercy, grace and forgiveness in hopes that the baby would survive. But it didn’t happen. The baby died.

Sometimes we pray and God doesn’t answer as we’d like. We pray. We plead. We beg. We bargain. We may even implement a prayer team on our behalf, but nothing helps. Here David teaches us a valuable lesson. Even in those times God disappoints us, we need to move on trusting his wisdom and knowing that as a sovereign God his way is best.

As C. S. Lewis said, “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties but peace within difficulties.” God may not answer the way we like, but he will always answer in a way that is best for us if we trust him. Difficult as it may be, when God says no we need to get up, brush the dirt from our knees, and move forward knowing that his way is best.

By the way, just a reminder, God gave David another son from the same mother. His name is Solomon. The wisest and richest man in the known world at that time. And if you look at the genealogy following David‘s line, later on from the same genealogy Jesus is born! God knew what he was doing.