The View from Rock Bottom
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
2 Samuel 16:1 - 14
August 14, 2011
Rev. Lou Nyiri

A hiker was walking along a ridge.
It was a sizeable height and the walk required some concentration on the part of the hiker.
He took his eyes off the trail for only a split second – something off in the distance caught his attention for only a brief moment – just long enough for his left boot to catch a root, sending his balance askew, and before he could correct himself he was falling through the air.
Falling through the air he reached frantically and frenetically all around him, hoping to catch onto something and stop his descent.  Ironically, the first thought in his head was the old joke his grandfather used to say, “It’s not the fall that gets you…it’s the sudden stop at the bottom.”

What do you do when the bottom falls out?
Where do you turn when everything around you looks bleak?
To whom do you call when the lights are off, you’re all alone and the scenery gives you a chilling look at who you are?

Do you see the forest through the trees…or…Do you see nothing at all?
Do you see a way out…or…Do you see only what got you here in the first place?
Do you believe there is a way out…or…Do you think you’re getting just what you deserve?

What do you see when your world suddenly stops?
What’s the view from rock bottom?

This morning, I’m not going to ask that we dwell on what our rock bottom is…or…was…or what it might be?
Rather, this morning, I’m going to ask us, “do we see that in spite of the circumstances surrounding our rock bottom [again whatever that might be] can we see the glimmer of hope, can we hang in there long enough and kick at the darkness long enough, until light – even the faintest glimmer of light – breaks through?”

Can we see that in spite of what we’ve done or where we are…in spite of what we may do or where we may find ourselves…in spite of the situations we currently find ourselves in [situations we may very well have lived ourselves into], yet in spite of the current places we find ourselves or may find ourselves, can we see that there is a future hope out there to be received in God’s providence and by God’s grace?

King David is in a similar spot.
The portrait being painted is of a man under judgment.
His own son, Absalom, has turned against him.
The King has experienced tragedy and death and now faces the shame of a flight from his own capital city.
It may very well recall for David his own words of lament over Saul and Jonathan, “How the mighty have fallen.”  (2 Samuel 1:19b)

Yet there emerges in this account a remarkable illustration of the resilience of King David’s faith and the rebuilding of his character.
The David we see now is not without the flaws that have brought tragedy to him.
In the midst of these circumstances, King David gives us a little glimpse into the power of faith to overcome the power of that which separates – in this instance, the power of sin and death.
In these chapters, we begin to see the power of God to bring new life.

King David begins a journey which takes him and his party through the Kidron Valley, which lies just between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives – a journey which is a procession of weeping and sorrow – David weeps; his head is covered; he walks on bare feet.  This is not the portrait of a political or military retreat.  It is a penitential procession.  The wilderness into which they head seems almost symbolic. 

King David has hit rock bottom – if you will – and he knows he needs help.  He begins to take an in-depth look at his past actions & the resulting consequences.  He knows it will take more than just his actions to make right what went wrong.  So King David casts his fate – if you will – in God’s hands and he moves forward in penance and supplication for God’s mercy.  (See 2 Samuel 15:19-37)

Along the way, he teaches us that in the face of the circumstances in which he finds himself – again circumstances resulting from his own self-serving actions and decisions which have brought forth many consequences he would rather have avoided – in the face of such circumstances, King David teaches us to rely on the power of God’s grace.
David hopes “to find favor in the eyes of the LORD” (2 Samuel 15:25).
David expresses another hope – almost a prayer – in response to Shimei’s hurling of stones and curses at him as he passed by, “It may be that the LORD will look on my distress and the LORD will repay me with good…” (2 Samuel 16:12).
While this specific part of the story speaks of an encounter whereby real stones and audible verbal insults/curses are hurled at David – I wonder, if in our own lives, the more destructive stones, the more destructive words are the ones no one else ever sees or hears – the ones we recite silently, in the recesses of our minds – the negative talks we give ourselves:

The words that whisper louder than stadium crowds cheer:
There is no hope.
There is no peace.
There is no redemption.
You deserve just what you’re getting.

Many who see the consequences of their actions find themselves mired in guilt, unable to move on from a past that has crumbled and toward the possibilities of God’s new future.
Sometimes when our own self-serving choices have resulted in broken-relationships and ruined lives, we seem to believe that the depth of despair and broken reality we see around us is all we deserve.

Well let me counter those words, with these words:
There is hope.
There is peace.
There is redemption.
It can be better than what it is.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Lest we make this a Pollyanna type endeavor these are not in the words of Monopoly, “get out of jail free” words.
There will be work that goes into bringing hope and peace and redemption.
Many of the rock bottom moments happen as the result of things we’ve lived into.
There will be conversations and apologies which need to happen.
They may not be easy.  They may not be fun.  They are part of the process.

In the midst of the apparent loss of his kingdom – a consequence of his own self-serving choices – King David trusts that God is still there and that in God there is a future for him.
King David trusts that in spite of his sin there is a future to be received in God’s providence and by God’s grace.
King David helps us to see a kind of faith that believes the good news – new life is available through the “goodness” of God – even when we don’t deserve it [which after all is the definition of grace].
While he does not know that this future means his kingdom will be regained, he trusts in God’s providence and God’s grace to give him a future – to give him something worth living into.

As he makes that penitent walk, through the Kidron Valley, he begins to find himself and his faith again.

“It’s not the fall that gets you…It’s the sudden stop at the bottom.”

Where do we go from there?

Let us pray:

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