Watch and Be Utterly Amazed

Bathsheba

In chapter 8 we are introduced to the 4th woman in Jesus' lineage, Bathsheba. For some reason I am fascinated by the story of this woman. Maybe, because (like Amy said) it reads like the plot of a soap opera or maybe it's because her story strikes a chord in me. What a fighter this woman was.  Forced into a sexual affair, pregnant, dishonored, husband killed, son dies.....She took one blow after another and kept getting back up.  I admire that kind of grit. When the rug was pulled out from under her and her whole world came crashing down, Bathsheba didn't throw up her hands and admit defeat.  She stayed strong and God blessed her.  

 

Bad things happen to good people:

What happened to Bathsheba seems like a great injustice, but the truth is that bad things do happen to good people.  Jen says, "How could we carry on Jesus' mission if His people only knew happiness and prosperity?  How could we minister?  How could we possibly understand?  How could we wrap our arms around somebody and say, I've been there, God brought me through?"  

 

My Story:

I've been lucky.  Compared to many, I've led a pretty charmed life.  I've encountered very few bumps along the way.  Guess I thought I was immune from pain and suffering, afterall I am a daughter of the king. But several years ago I went through something that rocked me to my very core.  I never saw it coming, but when it did, it hit me like a ton of bricks and sent me reeling.  At first I was angry with God.   How could he let this happen to me?   I didn't do anything wrong.  I was being punished for someone else's sin.  The pain was so deep and the hurt so real that I wasn't sure I'd survive it. After the intial shock wore off, I knew that I had a choice to make.  I could wallow in a pool of self pity and complain about the injustice of it all or I could pick myself and do something about it.  I chose to fight back. My weapon of choice...my bible. I dug into the scripture like never before. It was my lifeline. The only thing that gave me peace. Eventually, I began to feel God's presence and his healing hand on my life.  Although personally, I was going through hell, spiritually I was beginning to soar.  As I look back now I believe that my priorities were so out of whack that God was using that time to get my attention and to turn my focus back on him. I still have many battle scars that have yet to heal, but I have emerged victorious!  

 

"God's victory over suffering, through suffering, in spite of suffering will be revealed.  Pain is no match for his peace, sin has no authority over His rule.  In our bleakest moments, God's glory shines the brightest.  It's when he can say, "I've been your Savior, but now you will know me as Healer, Restorer, Sustainer" (Jen Hatmaker)

 

I wonder how Bathsheba felt in her time of darkness.  I can imagine that she felt like many of us when faced with similar situations.  Hopeless, abandoned, wondering if the darkness will ever end.  God says in Habakkuk 1:5, "Look at the Nations and watch-and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told."  God restored Bathsheba.  He delivered her out of her suffering and did something utterly amazing!  I bet in the midst of her pain, Bathsheba never imagined that she would one day become the mother of a great King (Solomon) and be known as one of the most influential women of her time.  

 

Maybe your pain is too real now or your hurt to fresh to imagine anything amazing coming from it.  But God tells us to watch...."for those who revere my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  (Malachi 4:2)