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“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.
“Then the Lord gave me this message: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” Jeremiah 24:4-7
Any of us who have followed God for any period of time know that sometimes he is very confusing. He promises to be with us and yet tragedies happen. He promises to love us yet at times he seems completely absent. He promises to protect and yet we get hurt.
The problem is, God does not think the way we think. His ways are not like our ways. He is not a God who thinks like a human.
In today’s passage, God sent the exiles into bondage (a very bad thing) so he could care for and restore them ( a very good thing).
Even though the Israelites don’t understand what was happening, in the long run they would see it was really in their best interest for God to bring them through the situation he was bringing them through.
We don’t always understand his working but we can always trust his results. So whatever struggles you’re going through today. Whatever has you afraid or anxious or confused, remember that all of this, for whatever reason, is in God‘s plan and he only wants his best for your life. He brought you through yesterday, you are here today, trust him with your tomorrow.
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” Philippians 3:8
What is the most important thing in your life? Generally speaking, the thing that is the most important in our life is what we gain our identity from.
For some of us we would say that our most important thing is our children. For others it may be our career. For others it may be our social action activity. Still others may look at the future and may say the most important thing now is to prepare for the future by building a nest egg for our kids for college and for our retirement.
It’s important to realize that none of those things are bad things in anyway. The things that we have in this life are important. But the most important things are we what we are laying up for ourselves in eternity. Each of us will face eternity whether we believe in it or not. The important question is “how are we preparing for eternity?”
The apostle Paul put all of these things, relationships, finances, family, and careers in the same category as garbage! It isn’t that he doesn’t think they are important, he has just come to the realization in his life that the most important thing to him is his faith in Jesus Christ. Everything else may fall away but our faith will remain strong through every circumstance.
The fight for power, rights and control is never more evident than it is today. This fight is driven by emptiness, pain, and hatred. It shows itself in anger. There will be no peace this side of Heaven.
There will be no contentment until we grow deeper in Jesus. The deeper we go the more peace we gain. It’s much like mining for diamonds. We can stop in shallowness and enjoy the a few low quality diamonds or dig deep and get the best ones. The best diamonds are deeper and get better the deeper we go. Grow deep! Reap the best God has for you.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
Change can be hard. The older I get, the more I realize how much I dislike change. Granted, some changes are good. I enjoy the new technology that comes out for the most part. I enjoy the comfort of a new car. I enjoy the excitement of a new job or new home.
But other changes aren’t so well received. When that restaurant down the street closes and your favorite spot for lunch is gone, that’s not easy. When your baby leaves for college, you feel so proud of her, yet so empty. Excited for her because you know she’ll do great, but empty because there will be one less plate at the table. Then there are the changes in your job ( downsizing, pension changes, restructuring [ie your job is eliminated] and health.
While changes in lifestyle can be difficult, it’s important for our physical, emotional and spiritual health to focus on what we know not on what might be. The easiest way to deal with change is to focus on the things that won’t change. Stability help us deal with instability.
The immovable stability of faith weathers the instability of life. That’s why Jesus gives us the parable of the houses built on sand (change) and rock (faith in Jesus). Faith in Jesus doesn’t make all change easy, it makes it bearable.
So focus on what you know, on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” 1 Peter 1:13
Yesterday we talked about the importance of being ready, being prepared for action. Peter warned his readers that difficult times were ahead. He reminds us to be prepared for action and committed to the ways of God so we will be able to endure everything that lies ahead of us.
There’s one more aspect of this verse that should not be ignored. Peter tells us to put our hope in Jesus and in the salvation he offers. But there’s also a line in this verse that I don’t think we should forget. Peter reminds us that our salvation, the hope that we have, won’t be fully realized until Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Salvation through Jesus has both a present and a future aspect to it. As we go through life, we know we are forgiven,. As we live for Jesus , we experience the peace and the love of God. But our salvation won’t be complete until Jesus is revealed to the whole world.
This is important because the people that Peter wrote to, and millions after that, never saw that hope revealed. They never saw Jesus revealed to the world because that will not come until his second coming. That time we are still waiting for and I believe is very imminent.
Hebrews chapter 11 tells us of people of faith who put their hope in God but never saw the promise of the Messiah in their lifetime. In spite of that, they are in God’s Hall of Fame of faith because they never let go of the hope he promised them.
We may not see Jesus come in our time. We always need to be ready for his return but patient and realizing his kingdom will never be in this world until he comes in great power and glory.
In the meantime as Peter says in the beginning of this verse, we need to be ready. We need to be prepared. Continue to keep the faith. Remember our citizenship is in heaven. There will come a day when our salvation will be complete and Jesus will be revealed in all his power.
There are two things we can know about God. He never acts the way we expect him to. Secondly he always acts in the way he said he would, according to his character and his love. Be faithful. Be hopeful. Be ready. But be patient. God has always come through on his promises.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 