Bathsheba...

Ran some errands at Tesco's Supermarket today... when I bumped into someone whom I haven't seen in ages.

We still do not know how to respond to each other - so we just smiled a little awkwardly and waved.

I'm just comforted that God knows my heart.

It was not something that I could have helped, although I always feel bad about things. I do not have to blame myself or anyone for what has taken place. Things just happened the way they happened. History can not be changed...but I can choose look at it in a positive manner - and be assured that God does make things work together for the good of those who trust Him. By the grace and strength of the Lord.

Look at it this way ~ You know the story of King David and Bathsheba? I used to blame her for causing the king's downfall... but today, I look at the story otherwise. You cannot blame her entirely - what was the king doing in the middle of the night, taking a leisurely stroll on the rooftop? Bathsheba's bathing was probably not in a public place, but behind the walls of an enclosed courtyard. She had not expected to be seen, since the King was, after all, supposed to be out in the battlefield with her husband. 2 Samuel 11:3-4 subsequently records, 'So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.'

I'm not saying that I can relate much to Bathsheba, haha. However, I often wonder how Bathsheba felt when she was being brought into the king's presence. If she had resisted, she would have risked execution for defying the King. So she didn't have much of a choice, did she?

So this is where she comes into the picture. Suddenly, she was linked to David - and all of his past, present and future! She would have to share in the consequences of his past mistakes if any... and of course God later turned her plight around into a blessing by including her into the lineage of Christ.

Then again, I always wonder how she felt when the first child she conceived out of David's sin died. Bathsheba, though a part of the king's household, had to now live humiliated in disgrace in the midst of the king's other wives and concubines. If I were her, I would have complained bitterly to God, "Why? It wasn't my fault!"

She did not. I admire her strength and courage. I really need the same strength and courage for my own circumstances.

I also admire King David for earnestly repenting before the Lord. It made all the difference. His marriage with Bathsheba was later sanctified and blessed by God Himself.

This story reminds me of God's unsurpassed grace. I know that this grace is helping me today.