Gtcotr/ss111724
There is a man who loves you and has loved you every day of your life. He will not turn His back on you, lie to you, or let you down. If you trust and follow Him, you will be a better person and you will make a better living, build a better life, and make a greater difference. You will be more at peace and have more joy in your life, just from doing what He said.
His name is Jesus and He is the Son of God. The Bible is the truth and contained within it are the keys to life.
If what I am telling you turns out to be wrong, you have lost nothing. You will still be a better person from trusting Jesus and following the Bible. If however, what I am telling you turns out to be true, you cannot afford to live your life without trusting Him and following His Word.
We have just come through a stressful time in America with virtually half of the voters in the nation voting for Kamala Harris to become president of the United States and half of the voters voting for Donald Trump. Things got heated with name calling and cutting remarks from both sides. There was no way everyone could get what they wanted, what they prayed for, and what they truly felt was best for the country.
If we live long enough, each one of us is liable to encounter a circumstance in which we feel we have lost.
Let’s turn to the Old Testament Book of Second Samuel, chapter 12, where we will find God’s instructions for what we should do when we are disappointed. The Bible is our guide for life. God highlights moments in the lives of others in the Bible to show us both what we should do, and what we should not do.
The moment we are going to use for our lesson today comes from the life of David. By the time we get to this part of David’s life, he is already the King of Israel, and he has fought great battles, killed Goliath, conquered Jerusalem, and had many sons. The army of Israel was so great and so capable, they felt they no longer needed their King to go to war with them. This turned out to not be the best idea.
While the army was at war, David stayed home alone. The Bible paints a picture of a bored man sitting on his rooftop overlooking his kingdom in his prime but idle. From his rooftop David could see the roofs of other houses nearby. One house was the house of Uriah, a captain in David’s army. Uriah was away at war and Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, was at home, bathing on the roof of her house within sight of King David. You get the picture … so did King David!
If you are not familiar with the story, I recommend you read the account straight from the Bible. And, the 1951 Twentieth Century Fox epic film produced in Technicolor, staring Gregory Peck as David, and Susan Hayward as Bathsheba, is probably my favorite thus far, but it still misses so much you can get from just reading it straight from the original manuscript.
Once through the adultery, the pregnancy, the conspiracy, the betrayal, the murder, and the birth of their child, God judges their sin in open forum by sending a prophet and informing David that the child shall not live.
2 Samuel 12:14 “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
This was not what David wanted to hear or wanted to happen. Let’s read what happened … it reads so much better than it preaches.
2 Samuel 12 NKJV
15 ¶ Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.
16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
This is certainly not:
What did David do when he didn’t get what he wanted, what he prayed for, and what he felt like a gracious God might give? Let’s continue to read:
2 Samuel 12:20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
If this is how we are supposed to act when we are disappointed and didn’t get what we wanted, what we prayed for, and what we felt was best for us and others… how much more should we follow these steps when we feel we did get what we wanted, prayed for, and what was best.
God is a good God, but we should never forget that He is God!
The day after God decides what He will do, is the day we pick up our lives, present ourselves before God and others as thankful to Him and supportive of His decision.
Without regard as to how you voted, whether you got what you wanted or not, let me encourage you from the scriptures to keep going to Church, keep going to your own house, and keep taking baths and smelling good and eating delicious food together with family.
Don’t stay down. Get off the dirt and get the dirt off of you!
We can start this process right now. Let’s pray and tell God we will trust and follow Him.
The Rest of the Story:
2 Samuel 12 NKJV
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
23 “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him.
25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
