For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
This week we will be talking about Mephibosheth. Wait… who? His whole story can be found in 1 Samuel 20, 2 Samuel 4:4, and 2 Samuel 9 – be sure to check it out this week for yourself!
In the Old Testament, before David became king, he found himself pursued by King Saul of Israel. Saul was on a man hunt with David’s death as the goal! Fortunately, David had a good friend named Jonathan, who just happened to be King Saul’s son. He was a good friend to David and he helped protect David from Saul.
In a course of dramatic events Jonathan saved David’s life. In gratitude David vowed to show unfailing kindness, like the Lord’s kindness, to Jonathan and his family for as long as they lived. One of Jonathan’s sons was Mephibosheth.
Later in this story King Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle. In fear for young Mephibosheth’s life his nurse picked him up and fled, but in doing so he fell and became lame.
Wow, what a rough life for such a young boy! The death of his grandfather and father, as well as the loss of physical ability – all by the age of five.
Some of us can relate to Mephibosheth. Life hasn’t been easy – a troubled childhood, an addiction, or the loss of someone very dear to us. No matter the circumstances, our lives may not look like we dreamed they would. Life has left us feeling sad, angry, or hopeless.
However, as we will read in the coming days, like Mephibosheth we have someone who shows favor on us: our loving God. That does not mean we will not have difficulty in life. It does mean we have a faithful Father who will never leave or forsake us, who has great plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future, despite our circumstances.
