You Can't See Your Feet at the Table

The other day I was reading through 2nd Samuel 9, which is the story about David and Mephibosheth. Before I go into detail about the story, it might help to have some background about Mephibosheth. The first time he is mentioned in the Bible is in 2nd Samuel 4:4, shortly after Saul's death: "(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)"

This verse is in parenthesis for a reason. If you read through the first few chapters of 2nd Samuel, you will find that this verse is somewhat irrelevant to what is currently going on...until we come to chapter nine.
My dad did a sermon on 2nd Samuel 9 a couple years ago and after I recently read this story I searched for my sermon notes with the desire to recall the astounding message hidden within the text.

Now, David was anointed king over Judah in 2nd Samuel 2 and from then on, there was war between the houses of David and Saul. The house of David always defeated the house of Saul. We come to chapter nine and David asked if there was anyone of the house of Saul whom he could show kindness to for Jonathan's (Saul's son and David's best friend) sake. Ziba, a servant of Saul's household, told David about Mephibosheth.

I will let the Scriptures tell you the rest of the story, starting in vs. 5 of 2nd Samuel 9:
"So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, 'Mephibosheth!' 'Your servant,' he replied. 7 'Don't be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.' 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, 'What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?'. . . 11b So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet."

The first point to be made here is that we are born enemies of Christ. Mephibosheth was a direct descendant of Saul. Saul had made David his enemy and pursued him consistently, wanting him dead. And from then on, there was consant warfare between the house of Saul and the house of David. However, Christ still pursues us just as David pursued Mephibosheth, wanting to show him kindness. In the same way, we are to pursue our enemies.

Second of all, God calls us by name and tells us not to fear. Mephibosheth's name means "shameful speech from my mouth." He did not have an honoring name whatsoever. It was shameful. But David called out to him, "Mephibosheth! Don't be afraid!" This indicates that Mephibosheth was afraid of David...I would be too if my grandfather tried to kill the king who just summoned me. Mephibosheth didn't deserve David's kindness. But because David loved his father, Jonathan, he wanted to show his household kindness. Like David, Christ is calling out to us, "Shameful one! Don't be afraid for I will surely show you kindness." We don't deserve God's kindness but because he loves us, he seeks us out and gives it to us anyways.

Next we see that, not only does God save us, but he also restores our heritance and our dignity. Mephibosheth was living in Lo Debar, which was a place of hiding, for he feared for his life because his grandfather was dead and David was now king. David had him brought to Jerusalem and promised to restore to him the land that belonged to Saul AND he promised Mephibosheth that he would eat at his table. David saved Mephibosheth from his place of hiding and restored everything to him and restored his dignity by letting him eat at his table. How many times does Christ do this for us also?

The blessing: Once we're invited to the table, it's our place to always come to. Mephibosheth always ate at David's table. Once Christ invites us into his kingdom, we are always welcome and are never banished.

The awesomeness doesn't end there though. There are a few more key points to be drawn from this passage:
1) We start fallen/crippled
2) We can't walk into the kingdon, we have to be brought
3) We can't walk in the king's presence on our own
4) This one's my favorite: While we're at the table we can't see our feet (our shame). Mephibosheth was a member of a deposed dynasty, but the "embarrasement" of having him, a cripple, in the royal courts did not in any way affect David's gracious treatment towards him.

Be encouraged by this as I was. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. I am thankful that God loves me so much to show me his kindness and to carry me into his kingdom in my fallen state.

I Couldn't Think Of A Creative Title To Go With This Post

This is my second post of the entire semester. I apologize to my dedicated fans (all three of you) for not staying updated. I have a problem, not so much with time, cause I can always find some time during the week to blog, but with finding inspiration. I'm not a very creative person so I can't just think of something to ramble about and, in turn, I don't write. Hopefully you all have forgiven me and will continue to read my blog.

This semester, for me, has been very...different. For those of you who don't know, I am a music major at Ozark Christian College. Most of my classes are music oriented and I spend most of my free time in the chapel putting in practice hours for voice and piano. Even though my life may seem to revolve around nothing other than music, I still have the privilage to escape my dungeon (the basement of the chapel) and take Bible classes. However, this semester, as previously stated, is different.

Out of my nine classes, six of them are music oriented and the other three, (Speech, Small Group Leadership, and Worship) unfortunately, are NOT Bible classes. While I don't get to enjoy writing five term papers due on the same day and memorizing half of the Bible for just one class, I don't get to learn about the Bible at all. An entire semester doing nothing but practically living in the chapel and writing a speech or two...I go to a Bible college, live with 91 Godly women, and I even go to church every Sunday and Wednesday. And yet, I somehow have felt so spiritually dry this entire semester.

Until recently I've blamed being "dry" on not having any Bible classes. But to tell you the truth, as a 19 year old sophomore in Bible college, I struggle with daily devotions and a consistant prayer life. And I've finally obtained the guts to admit it.

"Oh, but you're a 19 year old sophomore in Bible college! What's you're problem?! You're not a good Christian...." That's about how awesome I feel sometimes. And here's the thing, I don't have a problem with wanting to read the Bible and pray because when I do I feel so refreshed and awesome. I just have a problem with actually doing it. And I don't really have an excuse. I could say that I'm really busy and exhausted with school, cause I actually am, but that's no excuse for not reading God's Word and praying to my Heavenly Father and for having a deeper relationship with him. Nothing is more important than my relationship with God. Not even school.

So along with feeling spiritually barren, these past few weeks I have been really, and I mean really, exhausted. It doesn't matter if I get enough sleep, because I'm a grandma who goes to bed no later than 10:30 every night, but I never get enough rest anymore. And I'm not just tired, my body is always aching and my muscles are tense. I have physically been taking a toll like none other. But here's the thing. I get enough sleep every night. And I've come to realize that, even though I sleep sufficient hours, but still get no rest, is because I'm spiritually barren. I am so exhausted because I haven't been spending time in the Word and praying. School and work wear me out so much, and instead of seeking God and asking him for rest...I do nothing. And the devil has taken the opportunity to attack me with exhaustion and physical pain.

I write this post not only to encourage you to be NOT like me, but also to hold me accountable. It takes 21 days to develop a habit. So for the next 21 days I need your help. Call me, text me, or if you see me in passing, ask me if I've done my devotions for the day. This is going to be the start of deepening my relationship with Christ. I've been meaning to do it for years and I'm tired of putting it off and I'm tired of suffering for it.

And always remember that no matter how crazy life gets, be sure to devote time EVERY day to God (do as I say, not as I do). You may need to study for a test or write a paper, but honestly, you're relationship with Christ is so much more important. What's one "F" anyways? At least you know you've got a God you can rely on and know that you will one day get to spend eternity with Him (and I don't mean to say that lightly). So if you, too, struggle with spending time reading your Bible and praying every day, then I challenge you to join me for the next 21 days in developing a deeper and better relationship with God and watch as 21 days turn into every day for the rest of our lives.