By Ife J. Ibitayo
For Part 1 on missing the presence of God, click here.
King David is probably best known for slaying giants. But decades after defeating Goliath, He committed a string of unbelievable sins. He saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba bathing on her roof, slept with her, impregnated her, murdered her husband, and took her as his wife (2 Samuel 11:1-27)! He successfully shushed his conscious until he was confronted by a prophet named Nathan. David then repented of his sins, but Nathan delivered to him the tragic news: The baby boy born to him by Bathsheba would die. Shortly after Nathan left, the child fell sick (2 Samuel 12:1-15).
A Dying Baby
David immediately “begged God to spare the child.” He “went without food and lay all night on the bare ground” (2 Samuel 12:16 NLT). Despite being the very one who brought this grief upon him, David knew God was the only one who could relieve it. So he turned to Him and Him alone.
This unflagging faith was the story of David’s life. Two decades later, after committing another great sin, he said, “‘I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercy is great'” (2 Samuel 24:14 NIV). He humbly and habitually committed himself into the hands of God.
A Dead Baby
But a week later, the little one still perished. When the elders of Israel confessed this catastrophe to him, David responded unusually. He “got up from the ground…went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.” (2 Samuel 12:20 NIV).
The Hebrew word translated “worship” here is shachah: Meaning to bow down or to submit. Ironically, we often only submit to God when He aligns His will with our own: When He blesses us with a promotion or a new car or a fiancé. But genuine submission, true worship, is to live for God even when He takes away the thing we can’t live without.
A Living Hope
When questioned as to why David acted the way he did, he said, “‘While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, “Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.” But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me'” (2 Samuel 12:22-23 NIV). The key phrase in this verse is “I shall go to him”. David believed in a hereafter where he’d be reunited with his dead son, and that living hope gave him the strength to move forward. He never gave up on the LORD’s promises.
Conclusion
After losing their first child, David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and they tried again. They had another son, and this special baby boy was named Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24), the famous wise man who ascended his father’s throne and extended the Israelite empire.
Even if God let’s the precious love of our life die, we can choose to keep on believing in Him. He was our Heavenly Father, the Almighty Creator, and our Risen Savior. And He always will be.
“Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?”
(Romans 8:32 NLT)
“‘Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?'”
(Job 2:10 NLT)