Falling into Place

 

    After life gives you some tough times, there is a time of relief.  During the time of relief is the time for reflection.  It is a good time to look at the person you were and see the difference in the kind of person you are now.  Did you grow in your relationships, get hard, apathetic, or something else?

    David seemed to spend his entire young adult years in hardship.  He becomes king, but I wonder if he could even enjoy it because of the nation's division and constant fighting.  It was an uphill battle for him.  After Abner died and David became even more beloved, Ish-Bosheth lost his courage.  Lets be honest Abner had risen him up and kept him up.  He never had a back bone without the support of other people.  He left his people in dismay.

    Jonathan had a five year old son, Mephibosheth.  He was crippled.  When news of Jonathan and Saul's death, the boys maid fled with him to keep him safe.  She probably believed he would be the next king and needed to live long enough to reign.  Even if not, it was well known that when one family is replaced by another family in royalty, that the first family is usually killed off to avoid an uprising.

    Ish-Bosheth's incompetency got to his men.  One day two of his raiders, Recab and Bannah stabbed him while he took his midday nap.  Then they took his head to David expecting him to be happy about the situation.  The thing that no one seemed to get is that David actually loved that family.  He called the murderers evil and had them killed.  He had their hands and feet cut off and their bodies hung in Hebron.  Then he had the head buried with Abner.  He was still showing the family respect.

    David never asked to be king.  He always paid respect to God's anointed.  He stepped up when he was called to be king.  It was not easy, not one step.  He just made it look easy because he had a quick mind to make decisions.  Everything was finally falling into place for him to rule over one complete nation, but I don't think he would have ever chosen it to be like it was.  

    God was using all of this.  I don't think anyone will ever get all the layers involved in David's life, so definitely no in our own.  Life may not look the way you desire, but we have to look past the fantasy.  We have to face reality and find a way to embrace where we are now.  We have to go to God to reveal His desire, change our heart, find peace.

2 Samuel 4