PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN 2 SAMUEL 12: 20

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

20 Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the LORD’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.

MOMENTS LIKE THESE TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY...

MOMENTS LIKE THESE TAKE OUR FAITH TO THE BRINK...

YES, WE KNOW GOD IS SOVEREIGN.

YES, WE KNOW GOD’S WILL IS PERFECT.

AND YET, THAT KNOWLEDGE DOESN’T LIGHTEN THE BURDEN.

THIS LOSS IS TRAUMATIC.

I’VE SPOKEN TO THE FAMILY, AND I HAVE LITERALLY BEEN SPEECHLESS.

I PRAYERFULLY SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES TO SEE HOW SOMEONE RESPONDED TO AN UNTIMELY DEATH IN A WAY THAT DIDN’T SUPPRESS THE PAIN, WHILE STILL GIVING GOD ALL OF THE GLORY...

IN COMES DAVID...

NOW HIS CIRCUMSTANCES ARE BROUGHT ABOUT DUE TO DISOBEDIENCE…HIS LOSS IS A RESULT OF POOR CHOICES...

WE’RE HERE TODAY (NOT BECAUSE OF POOR CHOICES), BUT BECAUSE GOD’S PERMISSIVE WILL PERMITTED IT TO BE SO...

AND YET, BOTH LOSSES FORCE US TO FACE OUR FAITH!

WILL WE RELY UPON GOD, OR WILL RUN FROM GOD?

IN OUR PASSAGE, DAVID IS FACING THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS OWN SIN AND SELFISHNESS...

ONCE EXPOSED, HE REPENTS AND OWNS HIS ERROR…AND YET, HE CAN’T AVOID WHAT AWAITS HIM....

BELOVED, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU PLEAD WITH GOD TO SPARE YOUR LOVED ONE’S LIFE, ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT YOUR DESIRE DOES NOT MATCH GOD’S WILL?

VS. 16 SAYS: DAVID PLEADED WITH GOD FOR THE BOY. HE FASTED, WENT HOME, AND SPENT THE NIGHT LYING ON THE GROUND....

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN BEGINS WITH EMBRACING THE PAIN...

SO OFTEN, WE’VE BEEN MISLED TO BELIEVE THAT FAITH IS IGNORING FEELINGS…NO! BIBLICAL FAITH CONFRONTS FEELINGS WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD, TRUSTING THAT GOD’S TIMING AND HEALING WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE EVERYTHING ALRIGHT.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE EMBRACE THE PAIN - FEEL THE PAIN - OWN THE PAIN! TO DENY THE PAIN IS TO DENY OUR HEALING…FOR, WE CAN’T BE HEALED FROM A PAIN THAT WE DON’T OWN....

(((WHENEVER MY CHILDREN GO TO THEIR MOM WITH AN AILMENT, HER FIRST QUESTION IS: WHERE DOES IT HURT?))))

BALMS CANNOT BE APPLIED WHEN PAIN IS NOT IDENTIFIED....

DAVID - LAYS ON THE GROUND. PLEADING. PRAYING. HOPING.

BELOVED, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU PLEAD WITH GOD TO SPARE YOUR LOVED ONE’S LIFE, ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT YOUR DESIRE DOES NOT MATCH GOD’S WILL?

VS. 18 - ON THE SEVENTH DAY THE BABY DIED.

FAMILY, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE FEELING! NO ONE UNDERSTANDS...

WE SIMPLY WANT TO BE PRESENT WITH YOU, SHARING YOUR GRIEF AS MUCH AS WE CAN, AND ENCOURAGING YOU TO KEEP PRESSING.

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN CONTINUES WITH ACCEPTING WHAT GOD HAS PERMITTED.

DAVID’S PRAYER AND FASTING FELL SHORT. HIS WILL WAS NOT IN ALIGNMENT WITH GOD’S WILL...

IT’S TOO SOON FOR US TO KNOW WHY.

WE MAY NEVER GET THERE ON THIS SIDE.

OUR RESPONSE TO GOD, AS DIFFICULT AS IT MAY BE IS: LORD, I TRUST YOU!!!

NOT LORD, IT DOESN’T HURT!

NOT LORD, I AIN’T MAD!

NOT LORD, I’M FINE!

LORD, I TRUST YOU...

I TRUST THAT AS I SHARE IN THIS MOMENT OF PAIN AND LOSS THAT YOUR WILL (ONCE REVEALED) WILL GIVE ME GRACE TO ENDURE...

I TRUST THAT AS I SHARE IN THIS MOMENT OF PAIN AND LOSS THAT YOUR SPIRIT WILL COMFORT ME AND ENABLE ME TO WAKE UP TOMORROW...

I TRUST THAT AS I SHARE IN THIS MOMENT OF PAIN AND LOSS THAT YOUR WORD WILL SPEAK TO ME WORDS OF HOPE AND GUIDANCE....

LORD, I TRUST YOU!

HERE IS THE TRUTH FOR DAVID AND FOR US: THERE ARE NO UNTIMELY DEATHS FOR GOD....

HE’S NEVER CAUGHT OFF GUARD. HE IS SOVEREIGN....

AS WE HAVE GATHERED HERE TODAY, WE MUST TRUST THAT GOD’S GOT US!

AND HERE IS WHERE THE PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN IS FULLY REVEALED:

VS. 20 - THEN DAVID GOT UP FROM THE GROUND. HE WASHED, ANOINTED HIMSELF, CHANGED HIS CLOTHES WENT TO THE LORD’S HOUSE, AND WORSHIPED....

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN (DAILY) BY TAKING YOUR NEXT STEP!

DAVID GOT UP FROM THE GROUND...

AS WE MOURN…AS WE HURT…WE MUST CONTINUE (BY FAITH) TO GET UP! TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP...

TO PRESS TOWARDS THE MARK OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS...

DAVID, STILL FILLED WITH GRIEF PRESSES....

IN ESSENCE, DAVID GOT UP, AND SENT SOME GLORY UP!!!

HE FOUND A REASON TO WORSHIP THE LORD...

DURING THESE TEDIOUS TIMES, WE’VE GOT TO FIND A WAY...

REFLECTING UPON THE LIFE LOST...

REMEMBERING THE LAUGHTER AND THE JOY...

RECALLING THOSE PRICELESS MOMENTS...

WE’VE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO SEND SOME GLORY UP!!!

AND IT BEGINS WITH THAT NEXT STEP...

Marilyn J. Abraham writes: "We signed up for a hike with a ranger, who told us a remarkable thing: when a tree's life is threatened, stressed by the elements of fire, drought, or other calamity, it twists beneath its bark to reinforce and make itself stronger. On the surface, this new inner strength may not be visible, for the bark often continues to give the same vertical appearance. Only when the exterior is stripped away, or when the tree is felled, are its inner struggles revealed." God can use our grief to strengthen us in ways that are not visible to the world.

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN BEGINS WITH EMBRACING THE PAIN…

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN CONTINUES WITH ACCEPTING WHAT GOD HAS PERMITTED.

PRESSING THROUGH THE PAIN (DAILY) BY TAKING YOUR NEXT STEP!