Reason #757
Aaron asked me who I would be if I could be any person dead or alive. I told I'm I would be Princess Kate. I mean, who wouldn't want to be her? For starters, I think she is one of the prettiest and classiest women I've ever seen. And, she's a princess. I'm pretty sure if anyone is living the life of luxury, it's her. Sure, she basically lives under a microscope and has a lot of pressure to be perfect, but she makes it look easy. She has any and everything she could ever want or need at her disposal. She will go down in history books. She gets to travel the world, meet all sorts of interesting people, live in castles, go to all the major events, and make a huge difference in peoples' lives. Yea, I'm thinking if I was going to live any other life than my own, it would be hers.
I am half way through 2 Samuel and David is now the full fledged king. It has taken some trials and a lot of waiting to get there, but he made it. And so, being king, he has any and everything he wants. He is calling the shots, making all the right moves, finding success in whatever he does, and God has blessed him abundantly. David has no needs that are going unmet as God has provided more than enough for him. And although David has it all, the life of fame and luxury, and all of the authority in the land, it's still not enough.
I'm pretty sure Bathsheba didn't want to go down in history this way. I doubt she ever saw herself being a princess, although that is the hopes for most little girls at some point in their life. But I can bet that she didn't see herself entering into royalty the way she did. David saw her, and David wanted her. I don't really know that she had much of a say in the matter, either. Because the king gets what he wants, no questions asked. And so I doubt that she ever anticipated such a scandal that would simultaneously devastate her life and thrust her into such a high position that people would be reading about for the rest of time. I'm sure it felt like a bad dream more than anything. A dream that she couldn't wake up from no matter how hard she pinched herself. This was the direction Bathsheba's life was going, and it was as dramatic of a turn as they get.
Well, you know what happens. People haven't changed much over the centuries have they? Even in the bible times, it was bad for a man and a woman to hang out alone at home. She became pregnant, and David became an adulterer. Shortly after that, he became a manipulator, a liar, and a murderer. In the end, no one won. In the end, no one was happy. And in the end, God spoke up.
Maybe you're thinking, "Where was God beforehand? Why wasn't He intervening telling David not to do that?" The truth is, David knew what he was doing was wrong. But David wanted her. More than holiness, more than purity, more than honor, more than respect or integrity, or loyalty, David wanted Bathsheba. God didn't need to tell David this was a bad idea. David knew that it was. And, even if God had written it in the sky, do you think David would have listened? David was the king of the land, the one who held the power, and it seems he momentarily forgot that his mission was to serve the Almighty King of everything rather than his weak flesh.
God showed up, and He reminded David where it all came from. God said, "..and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more." (2 Samuel 12:8) This isn't what God wanted for David. God wanted more, so much more, for Him. God had already given David plenty, and would have kept on giving if he felt David didn't have everything he could possibly need. But the one thing David wanted, the opportunity to feed his flesh, was not going to come from God. God would give him anything but deception and sin, so David would have to go elsewhere to find that. He would have to run from truth and push past the Lord if he was going to get those things. Our wants and our needs are two different things, and if the hand offering that thing you so desire, that thing you think you need more than anything, isn't the hand of God, it's best not to take it.
Well, it would have served him right to lose everything. The Lord would have been completely justified to take it all away from David and leave him with nothing. Honestly, at that point, all the money and power in the world couldn't have made David's life better. David did what he should have done from the start. He poured out his heart to the Lord, admitting He was nothing without God, and he didn't ask for God to not take away his power or possessions. He did not beg God to let him keep his position as king. He asked for a pure heart, a renewed spirit, the joy of salvation, and for God's continued presence in his life. (Psalm 51)
God gives us so much. So, so much and He'll give us more if it's not enough. But when it all comes down to it, the truth is, we don't need more stuff. We don't need more relationships, more possessions, more power, more authority, more titles in our names, more square footage to live in, or more earthly things to feed our flesh, we need those very things that David asked God for. We need pure hearts each day to replace the defiled ones from the day before. We need renewed spirits to take over the ones that are continuously worn out. We need to joy of salvation because the burden of sin is too much to handle. And we need the full capacity of God's presence in our life with every breath we breathe. And when we ask for these things, God will not only give us enough, He'll give us even more. More of the good stuff, the good, satisfying stuff that only He can give.
#757 - Because He gives us the good, satisfying stuff!
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." - Psalm 51:10-12
I am half way through 2 Samuel and David is now the full fledged king. It has taken some trials and a lot of waiting to get there, but he made it. And so, being king, he has any and everything he wants. He is calling the shots, making all the right moves, finding success in whatever he does, and God has blessed him abundantly. David has no needs that are going unmet as God has provided more than enough for him. And although David has it all, the life of fame and luxury, and all of the authority in the land, it's still not enough.
I'm pretty sure Bathsheba didn't want to go down in history this way. I doubt she ever saw herself being a princess, although that is the hopes for most little girls at some point in their life. But I can bet that she didn't see herself entering into royalty the way she did. David saw her, and David wanted her. I don't really know that she had much of a say in the matter, either. Because the king gets what he wants, no questions asked. And so I doubt that she ever anticipated such a scandal that would simultaneously devastate her life and thrust her into such a high position that people would be reading about for the rest of time. I'm sure it felt like a bad dream more than anything. A dream that she couldn't wake up from no matter how hard she pinched herself. This was the direction Bathsheba's life was going, and it was as dramatic of a turn as they get.
Well, you know what happens. People haven't changed much over the centuries have they? Even in the bible times, it was bad for a man and a woman to hang out alone at home. She became pregnant, and David became an adulterer. Shortly after that, he became a manipulator, a liar, and a murderer. In the end, no one won. In the end, no one was happy. And in the end, God spoke up.
Maybe you're thinking, "Where was God beforehand? Why wasn't He intervening telling David not to do that?" The truth is, David knew what he was doing was wrong. But David wanted her. More than holiness, more than purity, more than honor, more than respect or integrity, or loyalty, David wanted Bathsheba. God didn't need to tell David this was a bad idea. David knew that it was. And, even if God had written it in the sky, do you think David would have listened? David was the king of the land, the one who held the power, and it seems he momentarily forgot that his mission was to serve the Almighty King of everything rather than his weak flesh.
God showed up, and He reminded David where it all came from. God said, "..and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more." (2 Samuel 12:8) This isn't what God wanted for David. God wanted more, so much more, for Him. God had already given David plenty, and would have kept on giving if he felt David didn't have everything he could possibly need. But the one thing David wanted, the opportunity to feed his flesh, was not going to come from God. God would give him anything but deception and sin, so David would have to go elsewhere to find that. He would have to run from truth and push past the Lord if he was going to get those things. Our wants and our needs are two different things, and if the hand offering that thing you so desire, that thing you think you need more than anything, isn't the hand of God, it's best not to take it.
Well, it would have served him right to lose everything. The Lord would have been completely justified to take it all away from David and leave him with nothing. Honestly, at that point, all the money and power in the world couldn't have made David's life better. David did what he should have done from the start. He poured out his heart to the Lord, admitting He was nothing without God, and he didn't ask for God to not take away his power or possessions. He did not beg God to let him keep his position as king. He asked for a pure heart, a renewed spirit, the joy of salvation, and for God's continued presence in his life. (Psalm 51)
God gives us so much. So, so much and He'll give us more if it's not enough. But when it all comes down to it, the truth is, we don't need more stuff. We don't need more relationships, more possessions, more power, more authority, more titles in our names, more square footage to live in, or more earthly things to feed our flesh, we need those very things that David asked God for. We need pure hearts each day to replace the defiled ones from the day before. We need renewed spirits to take over the ones that are continuously worn out. We need to joy of salvation because the burden of sin is too much to handle. And we need the full capacity of God's presence in our life with every breath we breathe. And when we ask for these things, God will not only give us enough, He'll give us even more. More of the good stuff, the good, satisfying stuff that only He can give.
#757 - Because He gives us the good, satisfying stuff!
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." - Psalm 51:10-12