"Do not let me fall into human hands"
2 Samuel 24:14
There's good news and bad news. As I've shared before, the Apple of my Eye was out of work for quite some time. Well, that's not entirely true. He worked, but not for a permanent employer. He was able to find only free-lance and temp work for several months. We know that in this economy, he was not alone, and we were very grateful for all the ways God provided. He provided shelter, food, clothing and reliable cars. Another thing He provided, though less tangible, was health and safety.
You see, being without a permanent employer meant that we were without medical insurance for several months. We paid for it on an individual basis for as long as we could, but there came a point when we had to drop it entirely. From then on, we relied on prayer. He knew we could never have afforded medical bills, and He chose not to add that challenge to our trials. A choice for which we were very grateful.
So the good news is, my determined and hard-working husband now has a permanent job. And this employer offers benefits. So the bad news is, we now have insurance.
Why is that bad news? Well, you know how insurance is. Application forms. Claim forms. Explanation of Benefits. Co-Payments. Denied claims. Physician referrals. Denied physician referrals. Deductibles. Plenty of bureaucracy and red tape. My sweetie came home with forms and booklets, and I realized with some dread that now we need to get back into the world of insurance. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to have the insurance, in case something huge and unexpected happens, but I really enjoyed not having to worry about it.
Because I didn't. Worry, that is. I trusted that God would protect us during the window of time where we had to be without insurance. And I had such peace. Believe me when I say I do not have peace when it comes to trusting an insurance company. I found it ironic when I realized I was almost disappointed to have insurance again, and I thought of this verse in Samuel.
This is a very interesting passage in Scripture. David had chosen, of his own volition, to order a census of his kingdom, the only purpose being, it seems, so that he could gloat over his power. In verse 10, he was horrified with what he had done, and asked God for forgiveness: "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Lord, I beg You, take away the guilt of Your servant."
God replied through the prophet Gad, "I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for Me to carry out against you." Isn't that interesting? I cannot think of another time in Scripture that a servant of God was given a choice of penalty.
The choices were: three years of famine in the land; three days of plague in the land; or three months of David fleeing from his pursuing enemies. David's reponse was my preference, too ~ "I would rather fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands."
God is fair, compassionate, loving, and merciful. That's more than we can say about any person on earth. And far more than we can say about some people on earth. There's no getting away from having to deal with, and depend on, our fellow flawed humans. But aren't we glad ~ are you glad?? ~ that in all the complicated, uncertain areas of our life, we can trust Him!
~ "Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God" ~
Psalm 20:7
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