Get Up and Eat!

“Then David got up from the ground…changed his clothes…went to the house of the LORD and worshipped…His servants asked him, ‘While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat…’ ‘Can I bring him back again?  I will go to him, but he will not return to me.’” 2 Sam. 12:20-23.

Sunday, I bumped into a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen in years.  I heard that her husband had died of cancer last year and was asking her about it.  Her story could have been spoken with the passage above.  She told of their dark journey through cancer, a journey all too familiar to most of us, as the disease seems to touch every family I know.  But what wasn’t familiar was the way she handled her grief.  She was David…She is David.  Her story was much of the same…weeping…praying…fasting… asking God for His will first, then her will.  Once her husband was taken to Heaven she arose from her circumstances, changed her prayers from an earthly healing to a spiritual acceptance, turning to God for His grace, mercy and comfort.  She said her prayers were full of praise.  Her praise was anchored in His faithfulness to heal her heart, and His promise to reunite her with the love of her life.  You see, her prayers along the journey had not been anchored in an outcome, but truly anchored in God’s will.

Her husband’s death does not define her but the love and healing of God marks her.  It is easy to see to whom she places her complete trust and belief.  She immediately ‘got up and ate’ and is feasting on the table of the Lord for grace, comfort and healing.  Her words are full of victory instead of victim, and praise instead of self-pity.  She fully understands that her loved one lives in the spiritual home where she is going.  She even said that some people have criticized her for the attitude she has chosen to live – getting up and eating!

She lives her life for God’s approval instead of man’s opinions.  She walks in healing and permeates grace instead of grief…gratitude for his life instead of bitterness for his death.  She is a wonderful measuring stick who exemplifies a faith for which I desire.  Her getting up and eating attitude is a true testament to her faith with her heart bent towards God.  She has fully embraced the will of God.  The passing of a loved one is heart wrenching but God is a heart healer!  When we are ready to get up and embrace the healing of God’s touch, we will be fed with everything required to hold our hearts until we hold our loved ones again. 

‘We will go to them…’