God Sendings

OY THE RELIEF!

I now know why my son has so often called me Metaphor Mama. Below is a short excerpt from the Old Testament, 2 Samuel, Chapter 12 in which  David (the king) is weeping and fasting, begging God to spare the life his infant child. But when the child dies, David is surprisingly okay. He simply stands up, gives thanks to God for the clear verdict, and goes about his life.

That’s the way I feel. The “child” we have held for so long in America  was called Limited Government. That “child” has (quite clearly) died. I believe that God is sovereign and, like David, that nothing happens without His permission:

2 Samuel 12:13-23

So David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.

David therefore pleased with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

Then, on the seventh day, it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”

When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes, and he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he went to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.

The section ends with servants in disbelief that David seemed perfectly okay with the death of the child. To which David replied, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept… but now he is dead, why should I fast?” And he went to Bathsheba and lay with her, and that was when Solomon was conceived.

To me, the name of this year’s presidential election is The Fall of 2012. Believe it or not, I feel greatly relieved. Apparently God allowed the death of Limited Government in America, which is the only place it ever existed (to my knowledge) on the earth. The election results make it very clear (to me) that Limited Government is never coming back. And I find this surprisingly freeing. I am grateful -- like David was -- loudly thanking God for giving us such a decisive outcome. Limited Government is dead, and we can just let it BE!

Oy the relief!