In 2nd Samuel 15:1-12 we read of David’s broken heart. To experience God’s power when you are facing giants, fighting the enemies of God, or withstanding a sinful king is one thing. To cry out to Him when you are held up in the wilderness of despair in the cave of Adullam or to weep up His feet when your rebellion has been seen in the smoldering ashes of Ziklag is all noteworthy. But who will we turn to when someone you love is tearing our world apart? I can think of no more difficult season in any life than when our own sinful choices have caused those we love to rip our hearts apart. To whom do we turn?
God was discipling His son David, and based upon his words in Psalm 3:2–3 (the inscription above the psalm reads “a psalm of David when he fled Absalom, his son”), David knew whom to turn to as he wrote, “Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory, and the One who lifts up my head.” David went on to say in that psalm in verses 4-5, “I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.”
He does not cry out to God in denunciation of the injustice of his discipline, neither in David’s silence concerning this is his admission that he is in need of every blow. But dear saint, please hear me on this: “Our reaping what we have sown, our spiritual discipline by our Loving Heavenly Father is not intended to cause us to draw away from Him but draw towards Him in brokenness.”
Praise God that even in His discipline for our own rebellious heart, His heart is open to our heartache. Oswald Chambers wrote, “God can only accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, so why not thank Him for breaking yours?”