Power Through

You had a restless or sleepless night for one reason or another. The day is gray, clouded over without promise of seeing even a glimpse of the sun. The first people you encounter in your day, whether it be your family members or co-workers or the clerk at the gas station are less than welcoming or encouraging - would it kill them to say "good morning" or flash you a tiny smile?. You have a heavy heart due to the next mountain of burden in your life. Your health or physical comfort are far from what you were hoping for at this point in your life and the doctors have no answers. The kitchen is a disaster because you were too wiped out to take care of it the night before - and nobody else seemed to notice the mess. You are still reeling from the pain of one of life's great disappointments. There are a multitude of reasons for being down, or grumpy, or hopeless, or depressed. Life is hard. Nobody can promise that it won't be. Plain and simple.

What I've been learning is that with a little self-discipline, God's Word, and a thread of hope I can power through those tough spots and force myself to allow God to change my day. Trust me, it's not always what I want to do. Sometimes we are comfortable in those uncomfortable shoes for some reason. Or maybe we're just too drained to try or care to make it different. However, thankfulness is the key. Once you put on that thankful attitude, even when you don't want to, God WILL provide you with a new outlook on life. He will give you His peace and reward you for your obedience with joy. Test Him. He will follow through.

Here is another of the messages on thanks that I ran across recently. This one comes, again, from my devotional, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. Remember this is written in the voice of Jesus talking directly to you up close and personal.

Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity. That is why I have instructed you to give thanks for everything. There is an element of mystery in this transaction: You give Me thanks (regardless of your feelings), and I give you Joy (regardless of your circumstances). This is a spiritual act of obedience - at times, blind obedience. To people who don't know Me intimately, it can seem irrational and even impossible to thank Me for heartrending hardships. Nonetheless, those who obey Me in this way are invariably blessed, even though difficulties may remain.

Thankfulness opens your heart to My Presence and your mind to My thoughts. You may still be in the same place, with the same set of circumstances, but it is as if a light has been switched on, enabling you to see from My perspective. It is this Light of My Presence that removes the sting from adversity.

"always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord." Psalm 89:15

I love Psalm 118:1. Mom always insisted that we add that verse to our dinner time prayer. I never really thought about it as a kid. Just said the words mom wanted so we could get on with the meal and fill our bellies. Looking back, now, I see that mom really believed this truth about God's enduring goodness. Why is my life so viewed in hindsight? Oh, well, at least I'm catching on. I suppose I'll just continue on with this "power through discipline" on the difficult days and perhaps I'll get a little foresight once in a while. And on the good days, giving thanks to God comes more naturally. Aren't we blessed to serve a God of such amazing grace and second chances?!

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

The Good Stuff

God works in our hearts and minds through so many different angles. I love, now that I am so much more aware of His constant presence, that He leaves me love notes all throughout my day. For example; I can get a word or message from my flip calendar, the radio, my devotional, a friend, a Sunday sermon, an email, the kids' Wednesday church programming, a blog, a phone call, a TV show or commercial, my childrens' comments and questions, of course the Bible.... you see... the list goes on and on... if only we pay attention and realize where the good stuff comes from.

I want you to know that I am not avoiding my work in pursuing thanks and sharing God's messages. I am actually having a hard time staying away from the next verses that the Lord has for us to look at.

What happened is, while praying about His messages for this week, I had a strong feeling in my spirit to share these lessons of thanks, written by others. At first, it didn't seem right, to me, to use someone else's writing in my blog. But then as I let the idea settle, I realized that God uses all kinds of "good stuff" to teach His truth to His people. Pastors do it all the time. I'm no pastor or spiritual leader, but God did tell me to teach those that want to learn about cultivating a thankful mindset how to do it. So I'm doing it. Let's call it obedience, OK?

Here is another of the messages that I ran across last week, while traveling. It comes from my daily devotional, Jesus Calling, from Thanksgiving Day (November 22). Please read this passage and imagine Jesus looking directly into your eyes and speaking these words just to you, for you:

A Thankful attitude opens windows of heaven. Spiritual blessings fall freely onto you through those openings into eternity. Moreover, as you look up with a grateful heart, you get glimpses of Glory through those windows. You cannot yet live in heaven, but you can experience foretastes of your ultimate home. Such samples of heavenly fare revive your hope. Thankfulness opens you up to these experiences, which then provide further reasons to be grateful. Thus, your path becomes an upward spiral: ever increasing in gladness.

Thankfulness is not some sort of magic formula; it is the language of Love, which enables you to communicate intimately with Me. A thankful mind-set does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems. Instead, it rejoices in Me, your Savior, in the midst of trials and tribulations. I am your refuge and strength, an ever-present and well-proved help in trouble.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:17-18

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1(amp)

That message drew me in so intimately because it made me understand a new way to feel close to my mom (who just went to heaven this fall). "Windows of heaven," "glimpses of Glory," "You cannot yet live in heaven, but you can experience foretastes of your ultimate home"... mom is already experiencing these things every moment that I am missing her. Knowing this, changing my mind-set, allows me to rejoice for her and be happy for her, instead of the alternative of feeling sorry for myself. This doesn't come naturally, I have to work on it daily. I am so grateful that Jesus loves me enough to see me through this and hold my hand while I learn.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

He Has Been Good

This week I will (again) be stepping aside from my "march in pursuit of defining thanks" throughout the Bible. I will be reflecting and sharing the many wonderful messages that passed before my eyes and penetrated my thoughts as I was traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. They are meant for preparation for Thanksgiving, but I believe the messages apply to life in general... every day.

Our family had to separate during the holiday, due to illness. It was difficult for me... I prefer togetherness, it makes me feel safe and loved. However, we did get to celebrate God's love for us and His amazing, abundant blessings through connections with extended family and their outpouring of generosity and care for the boys and I. Family... one of God's most marvelous and loving blessings this side of Heaven!

Today's message comes from my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Leaders Online newsletter. I found it very worthy and worth passing along to you:

He Has Been Good by Sherry Surratt, MOPS CEO and President
Oh ‘tis the season. The season of cooking and shopping and insane busyness. The season when Aunt Marge comes to stay a few days too long, and I have to wash the dog hair out of the sheets because, well, I’m just fancy like that. Wouldn’t it be great to have a little something, a little anything to help us slow down a bit and infuse a little joy into our tired brains? Well, I think I’ve found it. It’s thankfulness. That pause of reflection, that moment when we stop and say ‘wow, that’s good’.

In the mornings, I stop and take a joyful moment over my coffee. Mmm, so rich and steamy. I’m positive God invented coffee beans just for me. Here’s how my thoughts go, ”God, thank you for this moment of warm, dark richness. This is good. You are good. I know you love it when I take joy in the small things and see you in the goodness. I know you love me and I love you too.”

This is what thankfulness does. It causes pause when we would otherwise zip right by, faster and faster into our crazy scheduled day. It causes us to slow down and say, ”there’s a big God out there and it’s not me.”

As leaders, this is a wildly important thing. This pause gentles us and lets God work in our hearts so we are fit to lead. It gets us back into the flow of what God wants to do in and through us, and makes us usable for him. Many times I find myself all hurried — make that phone call, talk to that person, check off that next to-do on my list — and all the while God is beckoning my heart: “Slow down Sherry. See what I have done for you. It’s good. Enjoy it.”

This Thanksgiving, would you join me for a moment to steep your soul in this verse? “But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.” Psalm 13:5-6

Indeed, he has been good to us! Even through the sticky and difficult, he loves us so completely and sends small joys our way, things to make us smile, if we’ll only notice. He pursues us because he loves us so; he rejoices and desperately wants a daily relationship with us. He promises we won’t be alone and holds our hands through our parenting, our marriage, our leadership.

Ladies, let this be your definitive moment of thankfulness this season - for he has been good to me.

Any men out there reading this, please take no offense... MOPS is a women's group... but I believe the message applies to all of God's children.

Until tomorrow...

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

An Attitude of Gratitude

Our youth pastor preached yesterday. He was working on preparing our hearts for Thanksgiving. He used the term "Attitude of Gratitude." I like that. I think I'll be using that term more often. It was amazing how so many of his points lined up with the scriptures and concepts that the Lord has been leading me through these past weeks. Don't you just love it when you get confirmation on the ideas that are resting in your heart?!

The next verse that I'll be looking at is an introduction to several verses that belong to David's Psalm of Thanks in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36.

"That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the Lord:" 1 Chronicles 16:7

Just in case you're wondering, Asaph is David's chief musician and his primary instrument is the bronze cymbals. I'm just guessing here, but I think that David wrote the words and Asaph and the other musicians were responsible for setting it to music and performing it in worship before the Lord.

In these last weeks, oh, who am I kidding, in this last year... the Lord has been doing a major overhaul in my attitude. About life, faith, forgiveness, trust.... The road has been anything but easy for so many near and dear to my heart. If I were to have fallen into the evil one's trap, I would have built up a wall of bitterness and developed my own fatal condition of a hardened heart. It happens to good people every day.

Hardening of the heart is something that takes place in your spirit. It makes your heart tough and doesn't allow God's spirit, power and love to flow through. It is life threatening... just like cancer. I have suffered from this hard heart in the past. It's so consuming and heavy... debilitating even. It's happened when my pride was stronger than my faith... my self-sufficiency presided over my willingness to allow God to rule my heart, my spirit. What I've found to be the best remedy is thankfulness. Honestly. Discontent and ingratitude make our hearts hard. Trust, gratitude and praise help to soften our hearts or keep them from becoming hard in the first place.

So, how does a person do this... attitude of gratitude thing? How do you be thankful when life seems to be turning inside out and upside down? When there is crisis to your left and to your right? How? I do it by taking my focus off of myself, of the circumstances surrounding me and forcing myself to look to the one that never changes... God's character is completely consistent. It's a steady, sturdy rock when the world around us is ever changing and making us feel so unbalanced, unstable. Go to the Psalms or start right here in 1 Chronicles and begin reading about David's thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. That will give you an example, anyway, and get you started.

We can always thank God for his constancy and that He's in control of all the things that we aren't!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

"I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." Psalm 24:1-3

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, is right around the corner. I love that our nation still celebrates this holiday recognizing the great blessings and provision from the hands of God. To me it seems like our politically correct view that has been trying to snuff out all things holy and connected to God or the Bible hasn't really messed with Thanksgiving for some reason. Strange. But I am so happy and thankful that this very important focus for a national holiday is still intact.

In my last post, Following Instructions, I began to explain the verse that follows. I laid out the rules and regulations put into place, directly by God, on how to go about re-locating the Ark of the Covenant. The second part of this verse is dedicated to the worship processional involved in transferring the holy chest to a new home - - "to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel".

"He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel" 1 Chronicles 16:4

Interestingly, these three actions are also the three main types of psalms: (1) lament and/or petition, (2) thanksgiving and (3) praise. I love the book of Psalms! The poetry, the raw feelings revealed by the writers, the potential for great worship, the heartfelt gratitude to God for deliverance and grace, the pure honesty of repentance... it's all in there. So comforting. So powerful. My mom's favorite verses from the Bible comes directly from the psalms... Psalm 23.... you know... "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...."

Here's a few tid bits about psalms:  The book of Psalms is the longest book of the Bible with 150 chapters. The name Psalms is derived from the Septuagint title for the book, Psalmoi. Psalmoi is the plural of psalmos, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word mizmor, meaning "song." The Hebrew title for the book is tehillim, the plural of tehillah, meaning "song of praise."

I love music! I'm not a musician by nature. I have tried to play and sing. Mediocre at best. But I love, love, LOVE to listen to music. Contemporary Christian is my most favorite genre for sure. There is just something about music that speaks directly to your soul. You can be rock solid fine and a song comes on and instantly you are in a different place... many times I become a puddle of tears with goose bumps all over my body. I feel it connects my spirit directly to God's and I can right then and there be in His holy presence. Psalms are songs. Songs of praise and thanksgiving. In our theme verse this time King David is directing his people to give God the praise and thanks He is due.

DaySpring Devotions sent me this story of the history of Thanksgiving. I really like the words from our great president, Abraham Lincoln. You see... this wonderful holiday had it's beginnings with giving credit where credit is due... to God, the Ruler of the Universe, for His goodness.

After enduring religious persecution in their native England and for twelve years in Holland, the pilgrims sailed for America. They were modest men and women with a great hope and inward zeal. They rested in the providence of God that He was leading them to a land of religious freedom to advance the gospel of the kingdom of Christ.

The voyage of the Mayflower took twice as long as Christopher Columbus' voyage, enduring several wintry storms. After arriving in their new land, they faced disease, famine, bitter cold and many dangers. However, when the Mayflower made its return voyage, none of the pilgrims returned with it.

Their first harvest occurred in the autumn of 1621. Their own seed had barely grown, but the Indians had shown them how to plant corn which yielded a huge harvest. On the first Thanksgiving, they celebrated God's goodness to them with a party of ninety Indians. Their Thanksgiving feast lasted three days and included a festival of sports.

Thanksgiving Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln

"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may be then, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid, that on the occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the great Disposer of events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling-place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations."

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving... be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

In the next few days, as you prepare your heart, your home and your stomach for Thanksgiving, remember to include God. Take some time to think and reflect on the last year and the blessings you have received. Consider the large and small details of God's hand at work in your life... and bless our Almighty Father with thanksgiving and praise for the things He has done.

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things" Isaiah 25:1

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Following Instructions

"All the way, right away, and with a happy heart." This is a statement that us MOPS moms learned years ago in a study on discipline. It is how we were supposed to direct our children to obey our commands. This direction comes back to mind when I think about our next verse with the "thanks" theme. This time I'll be focusing on the background preceding this verse. Next time I will focus more on the details of the worship highlighted in the verse.

"He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel" 1 Chronicles 16:4

In the Christian scope, when we are studying child discipline, we pattern much of what is taught on basic Biblical truths taught throughout God's Word. We look to God's example of how He expected His children (of Israel) to follow His commands. When commands are not followed properly, there are consequences. In the Biblical text, many times the consequences are rather harsh. The story that precedes and plays into the above verse has these such harsh consequences from the hand of God.

The "He" is King David. He is appointing "Levites" or priests to take care of moving the "ark of the Lord" or the Arc of the Covenant, to it's new home that he had prepared for it. This very fancy chest contained items considered holy: the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff, and the stone tablets of the covenant (the Ten Commandments). This ark was kept in the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. God was very specific with His instructions as to how the ark was to be handled and by whom.

In the following verse (in Exodus) the words are God's words spoken directly to Moses while he was up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights to receive instructions concerning the tabernacle and its furnishings.

"Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed." Exodus 25:12-15

"No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever." 1 Chronicles 15:2

The problem, here, is these instructions were not carried out in this specific way the previous time the ark was moved. They put it on a "new cart" to move it to its destination. In moving it, the oxen stumbled and one of the priests, Uzzah, steadied the ark with his hand. The ark was not to be touched. This angered God and he struck him down and he died there before God. Harsh.

The verse we are focusing on is the next time King David is having the ark moved. He is making sure he follows the Lord's commands... "All the way, right away, and with a happy heart". David so wanted to please God and receive His blessings rather than anger Him and suffer the consequences of his wrath.

Obviously God doesn't expect us to "strike down" our children when they disobey. But we are to use appropriate discipline. In the same way, when we are disobedient to God's laws and ways or even man's laws there are consequences. We speed while driving, we get pulled over, we get a ticket and a fine to pay. Our child complains when told to do their chores, they get a time out or a favorite privilege taken away (screen time).

We all need direction and discipline in some form or another. I think that God is most pleased when we look to Him for our directions... pray to Him and ask His advice on how to handle our dilemmas or even simple details of our days. I believe when we involve Him in our details, he is pleased and He blesses us. I am so thankful that God is a God of tender mercy, second chances and unending love. I am also very thankful that Jesus gave his blood and his life to cover my sins so that God's wrath of the Old Testament doesn't "strike me down" when I don't follow instructions so good the first time.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Focusing Closer and Much Further Out

This week is a week of trials and difficulties. Dear friends that I love, and consider as sisters, are struggling with burdens so huge that they break my heart. My emotions are also raw because yesterday was the two month anniversary of my mom's trip to heaven... and I miss her. I know she's doing amazing... but I still miss her. These are real life weights, tests of sorts, that challenge my ability to stay focused on being, at all times, thankful to my God. I can just picture the evil one rubbing his nasty hands together plodding his next move to try to steal my hope. My faith.

 

I am a Minnesotan. Most of my life my address has held the "MN" for the state in which I reside. This has never really bothered me... even when the Twins (that my mom and grandma, and now my son, so love(d) to root for) or the Vikes are not on their best game. In fact, I'm happy to be a mid-westerner and known as "Minnesota Nice." However, I am not at all proud of the recent statement made by the voters to disregard the definition that God tells us in the Bible of what marriage looks like. I have to believe that our almighty shed a tear when He saw how little the family means to the folks in this state that I live in.

 

You may be saying, "Whoa... wait a minute... I thought she was supposed to be telling us about how to not get sucked into vast negativity and poor me, pity party attitudes." I know, I sound like a Debbie Downer here... give me a minute or two.

 

In this post I am going to step away from my current pursuit with King David and his reign... I'll get back to that next time. The message that the Lord has put on my heart just came together for me after this very heavy, emotional week of looking to Him for my strength, answers and direction for prayer.

 

I am very blessed to have wonderful godly women in my life. I have friends and mentors through my church and various groups that I am in and have been a part of in the past. Relationships have been established, and these loving, caring and safe arms have held me and prayed along side me in my most difficult days. When I have a hard time seeing the light, I look to God, prayer, my Bible and resources. When I'm still struggling to find my way... I look to these amazing friends.

 

When burdens become too heavy for me to carry alone, I reach out for support. I have learned over the years that I don't have to do this life independently. I look inside myself, at my heart, see where I'm lacking and begin my search for healing. When I identify the feeling, hurt or worry that is dragging me down then I am able to take the microscope off of myself and get out the telescope and look heavenward for God's wisdom, mercy, grace and love. Sometimes it's easy and the Lord speaks directly to my heart and gives me instant peace. Sometimes it takes more time and I get a word from my Bible reading, a Christian song (I keep my XM station on contemporary Christian), an encouraging email, or straight from one of those wonderful women I was telling you about. God sure does work in the most mysterious ways.

 

In my devotional today there was the best word picture for releasing your worries.

 

Sit quietly with Me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness. There, in the Light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear. From Jesus Calling.

 

This gave me the ability to visualize, actually picture myself blowing soap bubbles with my fears, worries, and burdened cares inside of the bubbles. Then, looking up to Jesus, releasing them to His Presence. Peace.

 

Following are some of the verses that came to me this week through various forms. They have each made a new point of how close God really is and that my focus must never slip away from trusting that He knows what He's doing. He's in control... even when I feel so out of control, weak or helpless. And that He allowed these burdens into my life for a reason, sifted them through His very own hands. That I have a purpose in all of this... He's gifted me with blessings that I, too, must share to offer grace to a hurting world.

 

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

 

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

 

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Our One True Leader

If you'll recall, in my last post Bad Parenting, I mentioned how King David "was filled with joy and it overflowed into songs of thanksgiving and praise... see the book of Psalms." - well, we don't have to go much further into the very same book, 2 Samuel, to see this outpouring of thanks by David.

"Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name." 2 Samuel 22:50 KJV

It is written in the NIV "Therefore I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations: I will sing praises to your name."

I take my "thank" references from the King James Version of the Bible since I'm not a Bible scholar and I have close to zero knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages, I will use the closest thing I have to the original text. It seems that the word thanks is often replaced in the NIV with the word praise. It makes complete sense to me seeing as when we are thankful we typically want to praise what/whom we are thankful for. Or we should anyway.

I find it interesting and timely that the NIV's phrase "among the nations" is written as "among the heathen" in the KJV. I had to go to my Webster's Dictionary to get the actual definition of heathen:  an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible.

Here in the USA we all know what today is. You'd have to be absent of most of your senses not to. It's Election Day 2012. I don't want to get into politics here at all... honestly, I am quite tired of the incredibly rude behavior that has been put in front of us these last months. What it all boils down to in my little world is that God is in control regardless of what today's race brings.

I am so incredibly thankful that ultimately God will reign over all. And those of us that call Him our Father and accept the gracious offer to follow His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior from sin, death and the devil, will get to experience the new world in heaven some day.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Bad Parenting

I believe that each and every word that is recorded in our Christian Holy book, the Bible, was purposely and directly placed into the hearts and minds of the authors of this priceless connection that we are blessed to possess by none other than God himself. Therefore, I will not overlook a single occurrence of this intimate link to our Heavenly Father's heart... thanks. In my pursuit to understand God's own heart (through His inspired Word) and His depth, meaning, and weight of thanksgiving and praise - I have uncovered an interesting story from way, way back. This story is about King David and his relationships with his sons.

King David was truly blessed by God. However, he too was a flawed and sinful human - as we all are. David's sins were recorded to be read and studied throughout the ages. Due to his failures and faults, David held much guilt and remorse. This guilt appears to get in the way of his duties as ruler and, more intimately, as a father.

You see, King David let his lust take him over which caused him to sin the immoral shame of adultery which then led him, further, to murder. So when his two oldest sons were then found in the same sins - Absalom killed his older half-brother, Amnon, for raping his sister, Tamar - he avoided punishing them and holding them accountable due to his own guilt. It also put a distance between the king and his remaining heir to the throne and it grieved him greatly.

King David had a very loyal servant, Joab (David's nephew and commander of his army), who couldn't bear to see his king in distress and likely wanted to see resolve to prevent the future struggle for the throne. So Joab set up a scheme to get King David to bring his son, Absalom, home and restore their relationship. When his plan moved ahead as he had hoped, Joab did the following:

"And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, Today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant." 2 Samuel 14:22

King David failed at many things and one of them was parenting. This is a subject that certainly holds my interest, seeing as I am fully in the midst of this important job - raising children. I take my position very seriously and my husband and I are trying our best to discipline the kids appropriately. We want them to know that there are consequences when lines are crossed. Do we get it right every time? Nope. Does that keep us from trying better the next time? Of course not. I'm not saying that we're any better than David. Certainly not. What David did understand, perhaps better than anyone, is the grace and forgiveness of God. He repented his sins directly to His Lord and received God's perfect mercy. Over and over. He then was filled with joy and it overflowed into songs of thanksgiving and praise... see the book of Psalms. Was David a good parent? Not very. Did that make him any less valuable to God? No, thank goodness.

I am thankful for this account in the biblical text to show me that God's mercy flows freely even to those (and especially) that don't seem to deserve it. I don't deserve anything from God... but that doesn't keep him for blessing me daily. For this I am continually thankful! And I am absolutely relieved and thankful that my blunders are not recorded and published for all to see (like David's). :)

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b