David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your servant," he replied. The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.""Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar." So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 2 Samuel 9:1-5
If ever there were a theme for the Body of Christ for anyone who’s trusting God for something know that: “God does restore.” Life may have you by the throat and it may seem like everywhere you turn there is something else going wrong. My wife and I have a saying, “that if it ain’t one thing, it’s two things.” It is just our way of saying that sometimes when you use all your fingers (and toes) to plug some leaks, then you inevitably see more leaks popping up. Why does that happen? Who knows! I can only say that if you are a child of God everything you have faced, will face and are facing right now has been filtered through his loving hands. To borrow a phrase from a dear friend, “just submit to the process.” The passage above is a beautiful picture of how God used David to demonstrate his love. He restored Saul’s heir (Mephibosheth) to a place of honor. Understand that Mephibosheth would have seen death had this been any other king besides the man after God’s heart. As a relative to the previous regime, Mephibosheth had a death sentence as to not pose any threats to the new ruler. However, David in his loyalty and love for his dear friend Jonathan, seeks out the grandson of Saul, son of Jonathan and blesses him. Mephibosheth feeling as unworthy as we might in the most desperate of situations: hiding from the new king, crippled from birth and poor. Does this sound like you and me? I can identify. Lost and hiding in my sin. Lame and paralyzed from the devastating effects of a life full of sin. Broke and broken from the ravaging rollercoaster that sin has taken me on. Mephibosheth needed mercy. He needed someone to look upon his situation and have pity. This is what David did. This is what God does for us. He takes us in our lowest and most pitiful state and restores us. As you will read in the rest of 2 Samuel 9, David does more than just summon Mephibosheth to see how he is faring in life. He gives him an inheritance. He gives him servants to work the land he has just inherited so that it can provide him with income (see 2 Samuel 9:9-13). He then allows him to eat at his table like one of his children permanently. Talk about coming up! Mephibosheth went from poverty to the palace. This is how God does us when we come to him. He looks at us and restores us and gives us an inheritance in him. All we have to do is trust him at his word. We have to believe he has our best in mind. God does restore. He will restore. Do you believe it?