Monday, July 16, 2012

Two Davids


A Roller Coaster Ride
by: Jun Gravoso

David is a typical 30-something Christian guy who grew up in Sunday schools. He was raised in a Christian home. He is blessed with a stable teaching job. He’s married to a kind and understanding woman.  He now rarely attends worship services though. The reason? He feels that God is so far away. For him it seems that God is a distant God. The root cause of his feeling? He had an extra-marital affair which gave him a son.

No, this is not the story of the biblical David.

David is one of my colleagues in school.

“Let’s go to church”, I said.

“I really don’t know. I no longer have the desire to attend worship services,” David replied.

I just looked at him with compassion and understanding. I wanted to  tell him that I am a friend who will always understand.

“I miss those good old days when I was so active in the church. I remember that I always had my daily devotion with my wife.”

“Then the more that we should go to church now.”, I said.
“How can I go to  church? You know, I really feel guilty. How can I praise God when I failed Him?”

My friend’s story is the same as that of biblical David.

David grew up in the fear of the Lord. He was really favored by God.

But he committed one grave mistake.  

He had an affair with Bathsheba. This affair affected David so much. He felt that God departed from him. In Psalm 22:1 David lamented, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thouso far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (KJV)

I can empathize with David.

I guess my co-teacher David can also feel with King David.

I bet my bottom dollar that so many of us can relate with King David’s feeling.

So many of us are pleading to God what King David is asking God in Psalm 22:11 “Be not far from me.” (KJV)
I guess so many of us had sleepless nights crying to God and we felt that God wasn’t listening to us. This is what David felt when he wrote, “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:2, KJV)

Duringthese times of crises it really is very important for us to go back to the Bible and see what Christ has done for us.

When we are tormented because of sins we have to remind ourselves that Christ died for our sins. (Romans 5:8)

I strongly believe that when The Father sees us He is going to look at what Christ has done on the cross and not to our transgressions. The blood of Jesus will cover all of our sins.

This is what the Bible promises us.

That we will be white as snow.

We also have to remind ourselves that nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38) We are eternally secure in God’s love.

There is one catch though.

We have to admit that we committed a sin and confess that sin to God.

We can hold on to his promise in 1 John 1:9. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ‘all’ unrighteousness.” (emphasis mine)

Do you feel that God is so far away?

The Bible says that we are secured in God’s love. (Romans 8:38)

Do you feel that God is so far away  because of life’s blunder?

Claim Romans 5:8.

But never, never forget 1 John 1:9. J