Stuck In LoDebar

In 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival released the "Green River" album.  One of the songs on that album was called, "Lodi."  It was written by John Fogerty and was one of the most popular songs Creedence Clearwater Revival ever performed that never made it to the Top 40.  It was also on the "B" side of the single, "Bad Moon Rising."  The reason the group loved this song so much was because of how much they hated being stuck in Lodi.  The first part of the lyrics give us a good idea what they meant.  

          "Just about a year ago, I set out on the road.
           Seekin' my fame and fortune, looking' for a pot of gold.
           Things got bad, and things got worse, I guess you will
           know the tune.
           Oh!  Lord, stuck in Lodi again."

In the 9th chapter of II Samuel, is the story of LoDebar.  LoDebar

is a place you might call between nowhere and goodby.  It literally

means, "The land of nothing."  A land of low hopes and shattered

dreams.  A place you can go to hide and no one will know you are

even alive.  

David's best friend was Jonathan.  Jonathan knew that his father, King Saul, was going to try and kill David and that things were going to get ugly.  Thus, they made a covenant with each other that no matter what happened they would always be friends and that their families would be taken care of.  Not much later, King Saul and Jonathan were killed and the house of Saul was terrified that David would destroy all of King Saul's family members.  A nurse taking care of Jonathan's five year old son, Mephibosheth, tried to run and hide but fell and dropped him.  His legs were broken and paralyzed.  The boy was taken to a place that no one who would look for him.  LoDebar.

Years passed by and David remembered the covenant he made with Jonathan and discovers that he has a crippled son.  He sends for the boy and when Mephibosheth is brought to him he falls on his face.  David asks him, "Are you the son of my good friend Jonathan?"  When he says, "yes," he is asked to get up.  David tells the boy he is not going to hurt him but rather is going to restore to him all the land of his grandfather, King Saul, and that he will eat at David's table all the days of his life.  Mephibosheth looks at David and says, "Why should my king look upon such a dead dog as me?"

Have you ever felt worthless?  Believing to be of no value?  Are you stuck in LoDebar?  Do you have lost hopes and shattered dreams?  Mephibosheth believed he was less than worthless, less than a dead dog.  When you are crippled physically or emotionally and have no dreams; when you have nothing, there's nothing to lose.  You're stuck in LoDebar.  But now Mephibosheth is in the presence of the king.  

God invites you to sit at His table today.  To come out of the wilderness.  To come out of LoDebar and sit at His table.  There is nothing that has happened to us in this life that cannot be healed by our great King, the King of Kings.  Open up your heart and come to His table.  Don't stay stuck.  Come out of LoDebar.  

When A Child Dies

What happens when a child dies?  What happens when you and many others pray for God to save your child and your child still dies?  How do you deal with that?  Do you lose your faith?  Does your faith become stronger?  What happens? 

The Bible gives us answers to these questions.  The Bible tells us the story of David.  David is described as a "man after God's own heart."  God loved David very much.  The first child that David had with Bathsheba became gravely ill.  The Bible says that, "David pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground."  

David's servants tried to get him up from the ground and feed him but David refused.  David is so upset that his servants are afraid that David will do something to himself.  For seven days, David pleads with God to save his son.  On the seventh day, the child dies and the servants are afraid to tell David.  

However, David overhears the servants talking and perceives that his child was dead, and asks them if the child died and they said yes.  David then rose from the ground, washed up, worshipped God, and requested food to eat.  The servants are totally confused.  They said to David, "You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food."  

David told the servants, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live.'  "But now he is dead; why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

What David is saying is this:  When our loved one dies, whether it be a baby, sibling, parent, grandparent, that it's ok if God did not grant us our prayer that they would live.  We will go to them when it is our time.  We will see them again in the next life.  Not to worry.  We'll see them again.  Amen.