Dear one,
Recently I was stirred by these words:
“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
These are the words of David (2Samuel 18:33)—his heart pierced, never to throb as once it had—and they did indeed move me. Oh, to be certain, and as you might recall, after Absalom’s death, King David was restored to his throne, sovereign once again—and yet, his kingdom and reign never regained the glory they once radiated.
Two or three weeks ago, I determined to ponder afresh 2Samuel, knowing full well what I would encounter: David’s rise to power; his genuine desire to build a temple; his kind faithfulness; his affair with Bathsheba; the shattering of his family life; and the reunion of a war-torn people. I knew the storyline—so very like a modern soap opera, and yet, I also knew: David was a man after God’s own heart (1Samuel 13:14).
Even if David reaped a whirlwind: a guilty father allowing a guilty son free-reign; and finally that guilty son, in rebellion against his father, plunging an entire people into the abyss of war, he nonetheless sought and knew the Heart of God: he hungered for justice and truth; he passionately cared for his people; he was a valiant leader, gifted with pen and lyre; and he listened to the word of his LORD—even as he experienced the depths and heights of triumph and tragedy.
David was a man after God’s own heart, because he knew his LORD’s heart, and therefore could pen what he knew:
“[Our LORD] does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12)
I trust that our stories, yours and mine, are not the vistas and valleys of David’s life; but whatever they are, may we trust in that Heart, who is filled with loving kindness and forgiving grace. Today, tomorrow, next month, in spite of the consequences of our own or others’ actions, with David may we affirm: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).
Nearing His heart,
Stan