Water, Water for King David

2 Samuel 23 :13-17
And three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time to David in the cave of Adullam, and a troop of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David said longingly, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate!
And the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem by the gate and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.
And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, to drink this. Is it not [the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? So he would not drink it.
This passage about David has bothered me for a long time. I didn't pay VERY much attention to it to be honest; I just thought it was one of those stupid things David did, that showed how very human he could be. "Acting so irrationally and with such carelessness and yet... God still calls him a man after His own heart." (that was my first thought)

Now I can hardly believe how careless I was with this passage.

Of course David wanted water... a little taste of home in the midst of war, and not as a passing whim but with a type of hunger that homesickness can create for the things you once enjoyed . He did recognize the sacrifice and risk his men took in order to get him this drink -- so why did he pour it on the ground without so much as a sip?

He did it because of it's value. He did it because it was the very best. It was water fit for a King! So he gave what he most desired at that moment to God. He didn't even sample what he would offer to his LORD. There no "two for you, one for me!" in his thinking. He loved God. He had something of great value now in his possession that could be laid before his God.

It reminds me very much of Genesis 22 where Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac. Isaac his beloved son! -- a result of a longstanding promise from God! I can understand the passage as it relates to Jesus and the Father, but it's hard to wrap myu mind around the willing sacrifice of a blessing from God.

My immediate thinking when God sens a blessing is that it is for my enjoyment. I do not immediately think, "Yay! God has provided a way for me to give to him the very best!" And so the blessings, although very much a blessing no mater what is done with it, remains in that moment mine alone. BUT, if I were to offer it back to God as it says in Malachi 3, just wait and see... "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Instead I often give left overs... left over time, left over talents... I don't mean left overs as in... bits that have sat around and are now useless, I mean giving out of an abundance, but not when it costs something. Is it as bad as offering second best? Probably, earlier in Malachi it gives a warning to Priests who were not offering "the best". It says in verse 7-9 "You place defiled food on my altar."But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
"Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.

The thing is... God does not demand EVERYTHING, just the recognition that because of His position he should be considered first. If we do put Him first the blessings in our lives, through that right relationship with Him will expand to include not only ourselves but those around us.

In this act of pouring out the water, and throughout his time in the cave David offered praises to God. Leading by example, he showed these men that worship, true worship, picks you up out of darkness and into the Light. It pulls your attention from your own distress and/or depression and focuses it on the one who holds LIFE in his hands.

It makes life in a "pit" not only bearable but joyous! It makes heroes out of mere men. To pour out the water didn't, as I had first supposed, reveal David's human-ness by some rash reaction; but rather, revealed the heart of God in him as he humbly offered the best that he had.

Good Grief

If I could paint a "living" picture to represent grief, I think it would be an asteroid landing in a lake. There is that initial tidal wave. Emotion that is so completely overwhelming everything around is overwhelmed by it. Immediately following are waves, they come quickly one after the other, with very brief moments of respite. Following this, smaller waves a greater distance apart, but still moving in against the shore, carrying out with them a bit of the soft sand. Later, possibly much later, are little ripples... so far apart they are hardly noticed by those that are not close to the water, but they are there and they still upset the water enough that the calm "glassy-ness" is not yet returned.... maybe it never will.

I was talking with my sister in law the other night and we were talking about this very thing. I know I've written about it probably more than one can bear to read, but I am still surprised that I can randomly cry over a friend that passed away many years ago now. I was sitting in church on Sunday and these waves of grief just kept washing over me. It had nothing to do with anything specific that was said... I just remembered her and missed her. My sister in law was telling me her similar story and we talked about missing family and friends even some that although still alive, for one reason or another are no longer a part of our lives. When the grief again creeps in after so many years it can be a little surprising, don't you think? The larger gaps in between the ripples give you a false sense that things have returned to the way they were before the tragic event that immersed you in a time of grief.

Well, all that said... I know it will sound very strange, but I am glad for the ripples. Somehow it validates once again the stronger emotions that came first. It reminds me that my life was forever changed by someone else being in it. Even though the time seemed short, there are phrases and ways of looking at things that are a part of me now because of that friend... the grief is a sort of reminder of where it came from.
More than that, those ripples remind me of the fact that I miss this person because death in and of itself was not a part of God's perfect plan. He has given us a chance to join Him in eternity. He conquered death, he conquered sin and there will be a day when I can enjoy the fullness of that victory. So deep down under the sadness there is still always a glimmer of hope and joy and perfect peace.

It is in that way... a Good Grief.

Project Natal for XBOX 360

So amazing!! You have to watch it, it's crazy.
It feels like all of a sudden they've taken things straight out of science fiction and made them fact!