Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Lessons From Ruth And Mephibosheth

It's kind of been a week around here, what with being sick and some other little stressers. And by the end of today, I just felt kind of beat. And then, we knelt to pray with the kids before bed, and Ruth's prayer was simple: "Thank you, Lord, for providing everything we needed for today." And I was reminded of our Bible time this morning (which, honestly, I hadn't given another thought to after we said "amen" with the last prayer). We read a story about King David and his quest to find someone in the line of Saul that he might show favor to*. And if you know the story of Saul and David, you know they didn't have the closest of relationships. By all rights, David should have wanted to kill everyone in the line of Saul, but instead he just wanted to find even one that he could show kindness to. And he finally found Saul's grandson, Miphibosheth. This young man was lame in his feet and had been since he was a child. He had no way of making a living and was carried from place to place only when it was convenient for someone else to carry him. He had nothing. But, King David took him in to his own home and made him like one of his own children. And David made him a promise: "...You will always eat at my table." Ruth kept interrupting the story this morning and saying, "but when does Miphibosheth get healed," for she knows that that often does happen. And the answer was, "he doesn't get healed, but everything he could ever need has been provided for him...one meal at a time." And this is just how the Lord is with us when we accept the sacrifice of His Son. We deserve death, and He gives us life. We have nothing, and He gives us everything. And the fact of the matter is, sometimes our lives aren't perfect. Sometimes everything isn't "healed" just because we take up residence in the King's house. But we no longer have to live in fear. We no longer have to worry about what the future holds. His grace is sufficient for this moment.

Thank you, Lord, for providing everything we needed for today!

*The story of David and Mephibosheth can be found in 2 Samuel 9

3 comments:

  1. That is a really good reminder about where our hearts need to be.

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  2. It is so true. On the plane ride back Monday I sat next to a wonderful Christian woman whose son had committed suicide out of the blue when he was 26 y.o. Her response was that she was Blessed to have him for 26 years; that children are on loan from God. He really does only give us the things we can handle and there is a reason for everything. Thanks for the lesson.

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  3. Oooh. Thank you for that! :)

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