GOD'S GRACE...IT'S AMAZING!

GOD’S GRACE…IT’S AMAZING!

God’s unmerited favor bestowed lavishly upon us is revealed in a wide-ranging array of scriptural portraits.  I love the spectacular story of Mephibosheth because it is so characteristic and revealing of the Father’s nature.  How special it is for God-in-Christ to touch and transform us through agape love, thus making the ultimate sacrifice for our safety, security and salvation!  And how utterly marvelous it is that He encounters us in those places where we reside, and transports us to providential palaces of peace and provision.

Although David was a bona fide champion of Israel, he had become increasingly despised by King Saul.  The king was motivated by fierce jealousy; and, the Word declares that “jealousy is cruel as the grave.” (Song of Solomon 8:6)  It fueled Saul’s dark determination to seek David’s total destruction.  However, the principles of sowing and reaping apply in every arena of life.  The Word declares, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)  Thus, Saul’s animus toward David eventuated in his own death, and even in the death of Prince Jonathan, who was Saul’s beloved son and David’s closest friend.  There is a definite correlation between our deeds and the welfare of those connected to us; this we should never forget.  Nevertheless, I find it entirely fascinating that God provides refuge for His own in the least likely of places.  Who would have thought that David would experience such a remarkable friendship, so freely bestowed by the very offspring of his chief enemy?

I Samuel 19:1-3 (NKJV)
Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted greatly in David.  So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you.  Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide.  And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you.  Then what I observe, I will tell you.”

In the aftermath of King Saul’s death, agape love motivated David to ask a rather unexpected question: “Is there anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (II Samuel 9:1)  In response, Ziba, one of Saul’s stewards, informed David of a surviving heir, the grandson of Saul and the son of Jonathan.  He bore a strange sounding name, Mephibosheth.  Not only was he dwelling in the god-forsaken city of Lodebar, he was physically handicapped as well.  Question: Why would the son of the prince of Israel dwell in such a terrible place?  Answer: FEAR is the ultimate mind-killer and the destroyer of destiny. Mephibosheth’s fear of retribution, coupled with anxiety regarding his physical state, moved him away from (not towards) the place of his heritage.  When summoned by King David, he arrived with great trepidation and trembling.

Remember this: Fear aggressively distorts the image of God in us.  It’s a highly effective satanic strategy that encases our perceptions within perverted prisms of doubt and despair, through which we come to view ourselves, others and the world around us.  Nevertheless, “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7)  

One key to understanding Mephibosheth’s state-of-mind is the fact that his adverse life circumstances were caused by the negligence of others.  At the age of five, his nurse dropped him while fleeing in haste, resulting in his permanent foot disability.  So Mephibosheth arrived (with a limp) for his audience with the newly crowned king.  Incidentally, whenever GOD CALLS US TO HIS ROYAL COURTS, He is totally aware of our ‘LIMP.’  That is, He knows all about our sins, deficits and deficiencies.  Mephibosheth was profoundly shaken because he knew his grandfather had been King David’s archenemy.   He had the expectation that he would become a victim of revenge, based upon his unfortunate lineage and his obvious physical challenges.  Isn’t it characteristic of satanic deception to motivate us to LOOK ONLY AT WHAT IS NEGATIVE OR WHAT IS NOT PRESENT IN OUR LIVES, as opposed to the power and potential that IS present?  Mephibosheth’s fear caused a curious strain of spiritual amnesia.  He totally forgot that King David and his deceased father, Jonathan, were the very best of friends!

As Mephibosheth bowed before the king, his first words were a self-debasing question:  “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”  What an incredibly distorted self-portrait he had painted!  Always remember that your first step toward spiritual liberation and blessing is to start seeing yourself as GOD sees you.  

Nevertheless, instead of pursuing anything punitive, the king offered what I call a GRACE-REWARD.  Summoning Ziba, King David decreed that Mephibosheth would inherit all the lands that had belonged to Saul and Jonathan.  Ziba, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, were held accountable to farm those lands and to pass along all profits to the self-proclaimed “dead dog,” Mephibosheth.  Also from that moment onward, Mephibosheth would live rent-free in the palace and dine daily with the king.  King David proclaimed “He shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” (II Samuel 9:11)  What a miraculous manifestation of God’s grace!

Although your past captivity in sin and shame might make you feel at times like a “dead dog,” THE KING OF KINGS “RESTORES” YOUR SOUL (your mind, will, intellect, imagination and emotions) and extends to you His matchless, inimitable, everlasting and amazing grace. (Psalm 23:3)  And from that point onward, you COMMUNE DAILY AND FELLOWSHIP JOYFULLY IN HIS PRESENCE.  David had received such amazing grace from his HEAVENLY FATHER, and he paid-forward that same grace legacy by demonstrating mercy and kindness to his ‘apparently undeserving’ NEWLY-ADOPTED SON.  Here’s how David would have visualized the miracle of God’s grace: “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)  GOD’S GRACE…IT’S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!