Jim Gallagher

2 Samuel 12:22-23

“And he said, ‘While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, “Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?” But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.'”

David and Bathsheba found themselves face to face with a parent’s worse nightmare. Their child was diagnosed with a terminal illness for which modern medicine had no answer. Like any of us, David was devastated, he would not eat or sleep, and those closest to him began to worry about what he might do to himself. When the sickness reached the end, and the child passed, David’s behaviors changed dramatically; he showered, ate, and worshipped. When questioned about the sudden change, he declared, 

“While the child was alive, I fasted…