Know when to change your clothes
2 Samuel 12:19-21 (NIV)
David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realised the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
Some clothes are to be worn for certain moments of your life, not for the whole of your life.
Welcome to this account of one of the worst moments in King David's life; it was the moment when the son he had produced in sin had died. David had spent much time pleading for the life of this child. In these verses we join him in the moment when he discovers "it's all over". This is indeed a very sad moment, but what David does next can inspire us all concerning rising up out of moments of loss and great pain. Again, this is a garment-changing account that we can learn a whole lot from.
David had probably been wearing sackcloth and ashes, or another outfit of mourning, but when the moment arrived for David to stand up and move on notice what he did: David washed, anointed himself and then he changed his clothes. He took off the garments that smelt of the horrible moment he had known – a moment so very painful - and he put on new garments that determined how he would live from this moment onward.
A great lesson to learn is that he wore the clothes that were right for the moment or season he found himself in but was also courageous enough to change that outfit when it was the right time. Grief is a very real moment filled with pain. Even if you have the eternal hope in Christ of a reunion with the one you have lost the moment of earthly separation can be so painful. But then there comes a day, as it did for David, when you need to get up and change what you are wearing; where you allow God to take the garments of heaviness and give you fresh clothes. When you wear any clothes longer than you should they start to smell. There are clothes like grief we have to wear at certain times, but we should never keep them on longer than necessary – have the courage to let God re-cloth you
Isaiah 61:3
And provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Look for what garment God is providing! Wear what you need for where you need to go next!
God bless,
Andy
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