I Shall Go To Him

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2zh7hn

David had made a huge mistake. Not just one, but several, in fact. And on top of that, he had tried to go on as if he really wasn’t going to get caught. But he did get caught.

David had been very blessed. He already had great wealth, several wives and was a king. But that didn’t seem to be enough. Within a few months he had seduced a married woman, impregnated her and arranged for her husband to be murdered. With her husband dead, David took Bathsheba to be one of his many wives. With the birth of a son, everything seemed to be working out.

And then Nathan appeared. In a very enlightening exchange, Nathan leads David into a trap of sorts and causes him to realize the sin that he has committed. David repents, but this sin will have a consequence. The son that was born out of this union will die.

David, a man after God’s own heart, is grief stricken for the consequences of his actions. As the infant becomes ill David withdraws into fasting and prayer. Perhaps God will spare this child. Who is to know? David’s prayers plead with God on behalf of the child, but after seven days he still dies.

Life is not always fair. And when it is not fair, are we willing to keep our faith in God? David did, and he provides us with a wonderful example of how we should view separation from loved ones in this life.

Notice this reading from 2 Samuel 12:15-23.

Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 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. 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!" 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." 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. 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." 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?' 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."

To the Christian, this world is only a temporary place to live. Our permanent home is awaiting us in heaven. Still, it is a difficult task for us to say goodbye to someone who has passed from this life. What makes this process bearable is the hope that we will one day be reunited with our loved ones.

Like David we must realize that we can not bring the dead back to us. Rather, we live in hope of also making that journey into eternity where we shall be reunited with not only our loved ones, but also all those who have been found righteous and acceptable to God.

Life is not always fair. And I’m not sure that it ever really becomes easy to say goodbye to someone we love. We hurt, we grieve, we feel the genuine loss and void in our lives. But, like David, we can also be strengthened by the hope that we can go to them. Like the song lyrics state, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!”

On Our Daily Walk today, may we determine to live each day with the full assurance that a better place awaits those who know and obey God. May we also live so our friends will have no doubt what destination awaits us.

Our thought for the day: “If God hath made this world so fair, where sin and death abound, how beautiful beyond compare, will paradise be found.” James Montgomery

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.