Then David Got up from the Ground

First, welcome to my new blog. I'll post an introduction later, but for now, I just wanted to post this entry. I typed it up a few weeks ago and haven't had the courage to post it. I'm worried it isn't perfect. Which, of course, it isn't. It's a little bit rambly and could use some editing, but it's me and I wanted to share it. Pleasant reading! 

“Then David got up from the ground.”

After David sinned with Bathsheba, God forgave him, but told him his son would die. David began fasting and praying asking for God to heal his son. His son died. When David heard the news, he got up, washed his face, and ate. His servants were very confused. David asked them if there was anything he could do to bring his son back. Obviously, the answer was no. So he told them that he needed to carry on with life.

What really stuck out to me was the phrase, “Then David got up from the ground.” Was he filled with sorrow? Of course. But did he stay on the floor wallowing in that sorrow? No, he got up. This was very convicting to me because I don’t get up. When I’m down, I stay down. When I’m angry, I stay angry. When I fail, I collapse into a pile of tears and potato chips and I stay in a lump on the ground (okay, my bed). Reading this was not the first inkling I’ve had of my inability to get up and carry on. It was actually brought to my attention by my ministry leader. He told me in my semester evaluation that when I get into a funk, I stay in that funk (which, of course, affects everyone around me).

So what keeps me from getting up? Why do my funks stay funky? By the providence of God, after I read that passage, I listened to a sermon by Matt Chandler. It was titled Woman’s Hurdles from the Beautiful Design series. He talked about how most of women’s sinfulness falls into two buckets: comparison and perfectionism. I never thought of myself as a perfectionist. However, what he said really resonated with me. He talked about how women are oppressed by the feeling that they must be perfect. If you can’t do something perfectly, why try it? Women are paralyzed by a fear of being mediocre. By the guilt of not reaching high enough. I may not be a perfectionist in the day to day, but I am crippled by the fear that I am not good enough and I will never be good enough. Why would God use me? I’m a failure. What man would want me? I’m a mess. Who would want to be my friend? I’m a burden.

So, what comes next? How do I get up from the ground? The short answer of course is Jesus. More specifically, I think one gets up from the ground by confessing and repenting of sin, thanking God for His forgiveness, and starting again. The great news is: we serve a God who loves us where we are at, but doesn’t leave us where we are at. He doesn’t give up on us, but lovingly calls us to Himself with a willingness to teach us a lesson as long as it needs to sink in. Praise God for His incomprehensible mercy and unfathomable grace. There is no on like our God.