“Then David got up from the ground.” 2 Samuel 12:20 NIV
“Pick up the shattered pieces of life and offer those pieces to God in worship and trust.”
My thoughts today are about “picking up the pieces.”
As a boy, I remember a sporting incident when the “wind was knocked out” of me. It felt like I would never get another breath. My body went into full panic mode! I wanted to breathe, urgently! But it felt like the next breath would not come. As well as physical trauma, there are times and experiences in life that can leave you fighting for your next breath. The word “disheartened” describes the emotions of such moments, like the word ”distraught” describes times of mental anguish. You can feel bewildered mentally and overwhelmed emotionally.
Life comes at you hard sometimes – moments when something so unexpectedly sudden or severe incapacitates you without warning, momentarily or longer. Trauma rattles your confidence. Questions bombard your mind. What’s happening? Why is this happening? Why now? Why to me? Your mind races, trying to make sense of things that don’t immediately make sense. You struggle to regather yourself, to regain equilibrium, and to recover a grasp on events.
Living right does not provide a holy exemption from trouble, though you can wish it did. You think you’ve had problems? Listen to Paul’s journey, “As servants of God . . in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger . . through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; (we are) genuine, yet regarded as imposters; dying and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 NIV. Notice the contrasts.
Paul certainly was not delighted with his circumstances, but neither was he devastated. He placed his heart in the hands of the One who was “anointed . . to heal the broken hearted . . to comfort all who mourn . . to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV.
King David knew anguish, the worst kind of physical and emotional pain. A baby was gravely ill. He fasted; he wept; he pleaded with God for healing, but the child died. A part of his world was painfully crumbling in pieces at his feet. Would your reaction be anger at God? Blame? Self-pity? Self recrimination? Inconsolable grief? “Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed . . and changed his clothes, he went into the House of the Lord and worshipped.” 2 Samuel 12:20 NIV. David simply picked up the shattered pieces of his life and offered those pieces to God in worship. Worship, acceptance, and trust are always appropriate responses.
Here’s the Godly conclusion. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down but not abandoned. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT. Knocked down by circumstances? Get up again and keep going! God will help you get up and get going again when you are ready. Read Psalm 34:17-19 NIV.
My prayer for you today is that you let God make sense of all that happens.