7 billion people on the planet, and many of them miserable beyond compare. Does the suffering ever end? I was watching "Hurry’s Law" last night and that ridiculous lawyer Tommy Jefferson admitted to Harriet that he rarely took on 'compassion' cases because his inability to help those suffering made him feel horrible. Well, it can get like that you know. But then once in a while we hear a story that fills us with hope and convinces us that all is not lost yet. Let me take you back into time-Bible times. There's this one story I really like. It's about Mephibosheth. This story gives me hope, and who doesn’t need hope in this world we’re living in?
Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, grandson of King Saul. When Jonathan and Saul died in battle, Mephibosheth’s nurse ran away with him to protect him, and in her hurry, she fell and dropped the child and he became lame. (2 Samuel 4:4) Now as you all know, David went on to become king after that . In the meantime Mephibosheth was being brought up by someone called Machir at Lo-debar.
So one day , David started asking around to find out if there was any surviving relative of Saul that he could show kindness, not because Saul was such a good, upright and outstanding person, but because of the deep bond David had shared with Jonathan and the promise he had made to him: “And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” (1 Samuel 20:14-15)
Ok, back to Mephibosheth. From the picture I get of life in those days in the Old Testament, one had to be strong and fit to survive. The kind of work that people did was physical and required strength. Some were farmers, some kept sheep and other livestock, some served as soldiers in the king’s army, others smelted iron and worked with metals to make tools and weapons, etc. You get the picture. Now here was Mephibosheth, lame in both feet. I’m imagining how difficult life must have been for him in that setting. I wonder whether there was any gainful employment to be had for someone in his condition. Also, as a man, it must have been very humiliating and discouraging to continually have to rely on others for help. Was he even able to go to the loo by himself? In 2 Samuel 9:8 we see what Mephibosheth thought of himself: as a ‘dead dog.’ Then he bowed himself, and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?’ No doubt life had taught him that he was useless and had no real value. His self-esteem was at rock bottom.
And then surprise –surprise, God steps in. I believe it was not coincidental that the very person who God used to rescue Mephibosheth from his misery and insecurity-i.e. David-had himself been plucked from being a shepherd and elevated to become the greatest king of Israel. (2 Samuel 7:8: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.) David too had been a non-entity. When Samuel came to Jesse, following the instruction of God that one of Jesse’s sons would be king over Israel, no one remembered David, who was out tending to the sheep as usual. Jesse presented seven of his sons, the ones who seemed worthy of being anointed as king. But haiya! God kept refusing them. Samuel must have been perplexed. Finally, and I imagine in desperation, he asked Jesse whether he had any other sons. And that’s when Jesse ‘remembered’ David. 1 Samuel 16: 11: “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep”. Goes to show you just how far down the list of importance David was. It strikes me how similar that statement is to the one Ziba made of Mephibosheth: 2 Samuel 9:3 And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.” So David was “the youngest” “the one who keeps the sheep” and Mephibosheth was “the lame one.” They were not even important enough to have their names mentioned! But as always, God had a different idea. 1 Corinthians 1:27: “…God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put shame to the wise, and … the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”
Mephibosheth, the lame man who had lived all his life until that point as a refugee, acquired land, wealth, servants and favour with the king of the land. (2 Samuel 7&9-10). Imagine that! After a lifetime of being “Mephibosheth the lame” now he actually had position, status, even servants to call him ‘Master.’ I bet he never imagined such an outcome, not even in his wildest dreams. Well, though nobody ever remembered Mephibosheth, God never forgot him. He had a plan for Mephibosheth all along. Just as he had told the prophet Isaiah in days gone by, “ For I know the plans I have for you, “ declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11) I like that. I like plans, they give me a feeling of security. Being part of someone’s plan means accommodation was made for you, there is no ‘woops!’ moment, you’re all catered for in the plan. Our God, the master planner, continually reassures us that He is thinking of us, that He will take care of us, and that He loves us.
“I will give up whole nations to save your life,
because you are precious to me
and because I love you and give you honour.”
(Isaiah 43:4)
“Can a woman forget her own baby
and not love the child she bore?
Even if a mother should forget her child
I will never forget you.
Jerusalem, I can never forget you!
I have written (some versions have this as ‘inscribed’)
your name on the palms of my hands. "
(Isaiah 49:15)
To anyone reading this who is even slightly tempted to feel forgotten and unimportant, God said these things then to Jerusalem and He is still saying them now. He means it. Far from being forgotten, you are loved, you are honoured, God Himself is willing and ready to give up whole nations to save your life. He already gave up His one and only son, watched him die slowly and painfully on a cross, bleeding from the wounds on his hands, on his back and his side, just to save you. You are continually in His mind, if He happens to glance at His hands there your name is - inscribed into His palms such that it won’t quickly fade. He has The Perfect Plan. From before you were born, right to the days of your future.
See, it doesn't really matter what some puny human being who doesn't even have super powers tells you, or how they make you feel. It hurts, true, but you need to stop listening to people who don't matter. I don't care if crowds gather outside your window (or in your head as the case may be) chanting "you're worthless". You focus on the opinion of the head honcho: you matter to God and He will never forget you.
