Lessons From David's Fall, Part 9: When Victory is Bittersweet
King David didn't go to
battle with his men.
Oh, he would have,
but the people wouldn't let him. "But you are worth ten thousand
of us now." (2
Sam 18:3 NKJV)
Instead, he stayed
and sat at the city gate, waiting for news of the battle. But would
the news be good, or bad? At this point, David likely didn't know what
to hope for. If Absalom's army won, it meant the end of his kingship,
and more than likely, also his death. But if his army won, it would
more than likely mean the death of his son and the heir to his throne!
Defeat would be devastating, but victory would be bittersweet.
No, I don't envy
David's vigil one tiny bit.
And then news came.
Things went well in the battle. The enemy was defeated!
But the poor father
couldn't be happy. His first words after hearing the news? "Is the
young man Absalom safe?" (2
Sam 18:29 NKJV)
But his heart was not yet to be relieved:
"When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a
great tumult, but I did not know what it was about." (2
Sam 18:29 NKJV)
And so he waited yet awhile longer for the
words he knew he would hear, but dreaded: "May the enemies of my
lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that
young man!" (2
Sam 18:32 NKJV).
Was David happy about the victory? Maybe,
but any joy he may have felt was thickly overshadowed by the grief in
his heart. David went up into the tower over the gate and sat there
grieving: "O my son Absalom - my son, my son Absalom - if only I
had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!" (2
Sam 18:33 NKJV)
The people didn't take David's grief well
at all. They had just left their homes to follow David, and then
risked their very lives to fight his battle. But in the end, the
victory only brought grief to the king: "So the victory that day
was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard it
said that day, 'The king is grieved for his son.' And the people stole
back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when
they flee in battle." (2
Sam 19:2-4 NKJV)
As a result, David was strongly admonished
by his commander-in-chief: "Today you have disgraced all your
servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and
daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,
in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have
declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today
I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today,
then it would have pleased you well. Now therefore, arise, go out and
speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the Lord, if you do not
go out, not one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse
for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until
now." (2
Sam 19:5-8 NKJV)
So David had a choice: Continue grieving
for his son and lose his kingdom, or put on a happy face and pretend
it never happened.
I don't know about you, but that would have
been a very difficult choice to make. On the one hand, my heart would
be breaking for my son. But continuing to flounder in his grief would
have ensured that David would never be able to move beyond all the bad
things that had happened since that one little night with Bathsheba.
The only way to move forward was to put on a happy face and sit at the
gate. And this he did: "Then the king arose and sat in the gate.
And they told all the people, saying, 'There is the king, sitting in
the gate.' So all the people came before the king." (2
Sam 19:8 NKJV)
So what is the lesson we can learn from this
ungrateful, grieving king?
Simply this: There are times when we
are expected to be happy, but our hearts are heavy with sorrow. There
are times when success brings grief. There are times when victory is
bittersweet.
David could identify with those times.
So
can God.
You see, God, too, lost His only Son. It was a bitter
loss, but so necessary for the salvation of mankind. How it must have
grieved the Father's heart, especially during those three days when
Jesus lay in the grave! Victory, yes. But oh, so bittersweet!
Friends, the next time your moments of triumph come tinged with
regret, remember you aren't alone. David knew how you feel, and, even
more importantly, God knows how you feel!
Also remember that
there is a time for mourning. David took time to mourn. But there is
also a time to put it behind you and move forward. Living in the past
will only bring about more sorrow.
I have a plaque in my office
that reads:
Sorrow looks back …
Worry looks around …
Faith looks up."
Looking back will not bring us forward into
abundant life. Whatever it is we are grieving, looking up in Faith to
the One who understands our grief is the only thing that will bring us
that abundant life!
Join us next week for LESSONS FROM DAVID'S
FALL, Part 10: The Return of the King
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language
Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget,
a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website
devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org,
with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org.