Today’s Daily Bread ~ “Get the hot off!”

Psalm 51:16-17 – You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them.  If I brought You a burnt offering, You would not accept it.  The sacrifice You want is a broken spirit.  A broken and repentant heart, Oh God, You will not despise.

My sweet son Nicholas learned a lesson today.  A painful one.  When mommy says something is hot, it’s hot.  And hot hurts.

My little boy was sitting at the table waiting for his chicken nuggets.  He had asked for them.  I was bringing them to him.  Then, in typical, tired Nick fashion, he changed his mind.  “NO!” he hollered, pushing the tray away, “I don’t want chicken nuggets!”  That statement was followed by a blood-curdling scream.  My baby had burned his hand.

Flying instantly into mother-hen mode, I grabbed a tall glass of ice water and stuck his hand in it.  “Nicky, let mommy take a look.  Let me see, sweetheart.”  Yep, he burned it alright.  Not too bad, but enough to learn.  I sat there with him for 10 or 15 minutes while he cried, “Mommy, get the hot off!  Get the hot off!”

Doesn’t that make your heart hurt?  Nick is just like me.  Unless he learns it the hard way, he doesn’t learn.  He certainly learned this time, but that doesn’t get the hot off.

When David penned the verses we’re reading today, he had a heart heavily burdened.  He’d committed adultery with Bathsheba.  He’d had her husband, Uriah the Hittite, killed when Bathsheba became pregnant.  And the LORD was displeased.  2 Samuel 12:9-10 – “Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed?  For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife.  From this time on, the sword will be a constant threat to your family, because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”  The LORD did forgive David.  But that didn’t ease his initial pain; it didn’t “get the hot off.”  When we disobey, we must still face our consequences. 

I am thankful for a God who let David experience that kind of fall, because his words, written in Psalm 51, have given me a great deal of comfort through my personal pitfalls.  I am grateful for a God who, instead of sweeping the pieces aside and tossing them out, painstakingly rebuilds, restores and heals us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we love You so much.  Thank You for free will, even when we fail.  Thank You for catching us when we fall.  Give us the courage to run straight back into Your arms, and also to encourage others when they make mistakes.  Help us not to judge, but instead to look on with compassion and love.  We pray these things in the blessed, holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.