“Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope.” Psalm 119:49
In 2 Samuel 9 we see the story of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan and grandson of King Saul. As a young child, Mephibosheth was dropped by his caretaker as she fled Israel at the news of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths, and now he was crippled and lived in constant fear in Lo-debar. He lived in fear because of the assumption that if King David knew he was alive, then he would surely want to kill him so that he would never be a threat to David’s throne. But that was never David’s heart. In fact, David loved Mephibosheth because of the love he had for his father, Johnathan, and wanted to do everything within his kingly power to bless Mephibosheth.
Lo-debar, in Hebrew, literally means “no pasture and/or no word.” Sadly, many believers find themselves in the same place as Mephibosheth. Because our adversary has been so successful at keeping the full gospel message of Sozo Salvation from us, we find ourselves crippled and living in a place where there’s “no word.” When it comes to the Gospel, we often hear the same things over and over, but often without hearing the full truth about all that Jesus came to give us. And, just like Mephibosheth, we too can have a misconception of our Heavenly Father’s heart toward us and therefore never truly be able to “pasture” in His abundant goodness for us. Because of erroneous and incomplete teaching, we can often be led to feel that God is never quite pleased with us, and that He may actually be mad at us for something we’ve done, not done, or not done enough.
Just like the covenant promise David had with Jonathan to always do good to and protect each other’s families, we too are the beneficiaries of the New Covenant between God the Father and Jesus, that was ratified through the sinless life and precious blood of Jesus Himself. As a result, we are always invited and expected to sit and eat at the King’s table every single day. Because of Jesus, we never have to go hungry or live without, and we can always know that, because of this New Covenant, we are always loved and accepted by the Father and that He is always for us and never against us.
Today, don’t allow the deception of religious tradition keep you away from the table of the Father’s abundant grace and provision. Because of Jesus, we can always come to the table!