A little morning intrigue...

I've been part of a Bible Study at my church for the past month or so, and we've been going through 2 Samuel and the life of David. Chapter by chapter, just reading it as it is written and discussing what his life would have looked like, what his thoughts might have been, things like that. The thing that sticks out to me the most is the deep consequences of his sin...it's almost overwhelming. The short of it is that David desired another man's wife and slept with her, got her pregnant, and then killed her husband so she could become his wife. In those days, I think the punishment of murdering like that was death, which God spared him of, but the Lord made it very clear that there would be intense consequences for this sin. And there were. It's sobering to read through his life chronologically and watch the results of that sin affect him in so many tragic ways. It really makes me think about the actions and thoughts of myself; how many of those sins will I live out the consequences for?

But there's another aspect to David's story that is intriguing. Throughout his whole life, he is a man who puts his faith in the Lord, he knows God is the true God and worthy of his praise all the time. And even when tragedy after tragedy strikes him and his family after his choice of Bathsheba, he does not turn against the Lord. He does not curse God and tell God that if he loved him, he would prevent these hurts from happening. Some of the Psalms are labeled as to what time in David's life they were written, so we get even more of a look into David's heart, and whatever happens in his life, David still trusts that the Lord is walking with him. He seems to just know that these hard things are a result of sin in the world, both his and those around him, and that the true way to overcome is to turn to the Lord and praise him and trust him.

It's a good example, and so encouraging to see a man who was plagued with intense hardships, yet he knew...really knew...that it doesn't make God unloving if he doesn't prevent hurt from coming into your life. Rather because God is loving, he will be your strength as you walk through the hurt of sin in this world.

And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.