Tag: humility

Bathsheba’s Husband..?

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When we consider people treated “unfairly” in the Bible, a few come to mind. We have Joseph thrown in the pit by his jealous brothers, the fiery furnace story, the lion’s den, and of course, Job. All these men were pushed into unimaginable circumstances and places.

When we even attempt to put ourselves in their shoes (or sandals), we catch a glimpse of how dire their situations were. How they wondered if and how they’d be saved. Each one had faith to finally say…”Even if, Lord. I’m with you.” The faith that inspires us and moves God. The faith The Lord wants us to have.

In each of these stories, the people did survive though. Miraculously, of course. God allowed them to see another day. And He got all the Glory for their stories. Exactly as He should. Praise Him!

The Bible says Job was even more blessed in his latter years than his previous ones. The ones taken from him because of a spiritual bet between God and Satan that he never even knew about. Was that fair? God allowed it and trusted Job. Even though and even if. And, he was rewarded on earth as he will be in heaven.

But, what about Bathsheba’s husband? I have so much compassion for this man. You’ve heard the phrase “Sometimes we are just the collateral damage in someone else’s war against themselves.” Talk about some collateral damage for this guy!

Now, we don’t know if there was a wager made in heaven about him. We only know there was for Job because it was written about. We know he couldn’t have been perfect, because he was human. But, all we are told about him is that he was faithful. Faithful to his king and his wife. And still….gets murdered. Not just by some “bad guy”, but by the guy we know as “The man after God’s own heart.” Man, does that feel unfair.

We know David repented for cheating with his wife and murdering him. After the fact. David’s heart broke into a million pieces for what he did. David’s family had issues because of it and he lived with his own consequences. But, when I think of how unfair life can be to some. Some who don’t deserve it, my mind goes back to Bathsheba’s husband and I am once again reassured that His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8) That some reap rewards and survive miraculously on earth, but that for others their reward will be in heaven (Matthew 5:12).

Bathsheba’s husband didn’t live to work through the battle of forgiveness to the king he so faithfully served and was betrayed by. That would have been a different story. Instead, he was killed on purpose by the man he was fighting for and also got his wife pregnant.

To be cheated on and murdered seems bad enough, right? But, to be cheated on and killed by the man known as the man after God’s own heart? What a story. Talk about collateral damage.

We love King David and feel sorry for Bathsheba’s husband. And, I can’t wait to hug them both in heaven. Doesn’t that seem like a very strange meeting for the two men after their story? With nothing but forgiveness and understanding in their hearts for each other. A story only God could orchestrate and redeem. But, He does and He will.

I don’t share this to add questions to God’s motives, but to remind us that we will never understand it all this side of heaven. We aren’t meant to. When innocent children get hurt or killed. When bad things happen to good people. When corruption is elected and runs rampant. When we just don’t understand…

We are humble humans living God’s story, whatever that is. He uses us in spite of ourselves, our sins, our struggles, and our tragedies. Somehow, in His sovereignty and love, He alone will make it perfect.

I Can’t Fix It!

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fix it

I work in a highly technical field. Between our computers, ultrasound machines, and treadmills, technology is in full force all day. When any of these break, it throws a wrench in our entire schedule. It affects our current patient and subsequent patients. And….we can’t fix it! We are at the mercy of our repair guy, and most the time, he is at the mercy of the broken part. He has to figure out what part is the problem, order it, wait on it, and get it installed, before we are back to normal working conditions.

I feel so bad for the patients when this happens because they are coming in for a stress test to check their hearts which is usually more stressful emotionally than physically. They want to know if they have a problem. And here I am, apologizing that I can’t test them because something is broken and I don’t know when it will be fixed. Usually, they are understanding. I always appreciate that, but I’m still frustrated that I can’t fix it.

Today, my treadmill broke. My patient was so kind even though she really needed it done considering she has plans to go out of town tomorrow (of course). I was even more frustrated because I had called the repair guy the week before with the same issue, but it wasn’t resolved. She was so sweet and kept saying to me “bless your heart”. She knew I was irritated with the fact that it was still not working properly. I said to her “I’m so sorry. I can’t fix the problem, only report it.”

That statement made me think of prayer. Most of our problems we can’t fix. We may have contributed to them, been born into them, or been completely sideswiped by them. But, we can’t fix them….only report them. Once we report the problem, we’ll need strength while He locates the problem, humility while He corrects it (us), and patience while we wait.

One thing’s for sure, with God as our repair guy, we will come out stronger, wiser, and more loving. Because that’s what He does. He transforms us through the problems we report. Let’s not be afraid to report to the One who created us. He knows us best and loves us most.

Meekness is Not Weakness

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meekness

Matthew 5:5 says: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. The definition of meek is “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.”  These are all wonderful and endearing character traits. As wives, we are called to be a gentle quiet spirit and submissive to our husbands. This makes it very hard to know when and HOW to stand up for ourselves properly and respectfully in a God pleasing way.

2 Timothy 1:7 says For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. Amen! This tells me that the Holy Spirit will speak to us and give us the words and strength to stand up, speak up, and make necessary changes. He has done this for me and I pray He continues to. Do not mistake meekness, kindness, or humility for weakness. It takes a lot more strength to respond with these virtues in certain situations than it does to retaliate in anger and hostility. We are not called to be doormats, but we are called to demonstrate self control. It’s a delicate balance.

When we do stand up, the relationship may end. We may get rejected. We may even get blamed. But, when we wonder what decisions to make, it helps immensely to ask ourselves what decision we would want our children to make if they were in the same situation.  We would never want them to be walked on, disrespected, or used. They are much too valuable! They deserve better! Well, so do we. God sees us the same way, we are His children. His spirit WILL give us the wisdom, power, and words to stand up when necessary and there are times when it IS necessary.