by Angie Jarratt
I can’t believe we are finished with the book of Samuel! I know for me it’s been such a fruitful study. I’ve discovered new and exciting things about God and His nature, and in that discovered things about my own heart as well. As I sit and reflect on the last few months, thinking about the beginning, all the way to the end of the book of Samuel-every character and life, every battle and victory, every sorrow and also every praise-all the details and information that I’ve processed as this story unfolded before me. In all of the greatness that is 1 & 2 Samuel, 2 stories really stuck out to me the most. The two times David fled. One time in 1 Samuel and once again in 2 Samuel. King David walked through a lot of trials and I can say it has impacted my perception of the trials in my own life. The book of Samuel has taught me that in all the crazy that surrounds me on any given day, God is faithful, God is my provider, God is my protector, but the greatest lesson I’ve personally taken away from this study is God’s sovereignty.
In the beginning of 1 Samuel we find Israel in an awful state. Everyone is living to their own standard, sin is rampant and God’s chosen people decide they want a human king like all the other nations. God gives them what they ask for and Saul is anointed king over Israel. The beginning of Saul’s reign looks promising but he quickly proves himself unworthy. God removes His anointing from Saul and has Samuel secretly anoint David in his place. Then the story escalates quickly! Saul starts to literally lose his mind, David is brought into the king's service, and before we know it David is fleeing for his life. I remember reading that and thinking poor David, why is God allowing this to happen to him? What in the world is going on here? So the question is why did God let David go through this awful circumstance with Saul? It was unfair, unjust and hard to read at times! I believe one reason is because the past prepares us for future circumstances.
In 2 Samuel we see a more mature David. His kingdom is established. Things seem to be playing out nicely. He’s conquering lands, he’s victorious, he’s the king we all knew he could be. Annnnd then In chapter 11 he does the unthinkable. We see him trade everything for a little lady in a bathtub and we see the very real, very raw effects of sin make a mess of his life. His children endure tragedy after tragedy. David’s baby gets sick and dies, I’m not going to lie this was so very hard for me to read. Why? I walked away from this particular story with a new understanding of the seriousness of the sin in my own life. My sin affects the innocent, it affects my children, my husband, my friends, and strangers I’ve never even met. The ripple effect of sin brings a darkness into our lives so severe that sometimes we struggle to comprehend it. As if the death of the baby wasn't enough we see Tamar’s, David’s daughter, innocence stripped from her at the hand of her own half brother Amnon. We find David on the run AGAIN after his son Absalom betrays him, in an attempt to overthrow the kingdom.
In 2 Samuel 15:30 it says “David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.”
It’s happening again, David is fleeing just like he did from Saul. But this time it’s sadder, much worse actually, he’s being betrayed by his own flesh and blood. I can’t imagine; it’s got to feel unbearable. David knows his own sin has played a huge part in this; his heart is broken, his life and kingdom in shambles. How did he fall this far? It’s one thing to be under attack because of someone else's sin and trust that God is on your side. BUT it’s entirely another story to be the reason you're under attack. His own mistakes, a true picture of self destruction. I know I’m harder on myself than anyone else ever could be. David is weeping; he is broken.
But God. Because David has experienced this before He could trust that God would be faithful this time around because God had been faithful the first time around. In God’s all knowing, all seeing, sovereignty He allowed David to walk through the first trial to prepare him for the mess he’d create with his own sin. Not only so he’d know God’s faithfulness but so he’d understand his own weaknesses. David understood his need for God’s presence in his life. He wasn’t going to fix this on his own. David again had a choice to make, allow this to defeat him, or trust and allow God to fight another battle for him, just as he had done in the past. God knew—God always knows. The past is our preparation.
What battles are you facing today? Are you fleeing circumstances that are beyond your control? All of our lives will be affected by others and unfortunately like David, by our own decisions too. God has allowed us to walk through things to prepare our hearts for trials we are certainly going to face in the future. Being a child of God does not mean we won’t have to endure hardship. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) The hard times in our lives teach us that we don’t have to get through trails on our own. Where I am weak, He is strong! Praise God that we don’t have to walk through this life alone...We GET TO rely on His faithfulness and not our own strength.
The world says that our past hinders us and leaves us damaged. But that’s not what I see when I read David’s story. The Word of God says that everyday we are being made new.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 1 Corinthians 4:16-17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:9-11
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24
We can listen to what the world says or we can listen to what the Word says. Jesus is our Healer. He takes what the enemy meant to hurt us in our lives, what was meant to damage us and makes us whole and new again. I can testify that my past has strengthened my faith, not because all the hard things I’ve been through have made me stronger. Honestly it’s quite the opposite, enduring things in my life has made me realize how weak I really am. That without God and his faithfulness I wouldn’t have survived one day. Like David, when my life was under attack because of other people, God carried me through. When I’ve made an awful mess because of sin and bad choices (and believe me I've got quite the list), God has carried me through. He’s preparing me today. I don’t know what the plan is but I am confident that God always forgives, He always protects, always provides and His sovereign plan always prevails. Our past is our preparation for things to come.