David rescued his two wives and everyone else the Amalekites had taken from Ziklag. No one was missing—young or old, sons or daughters. David brought back everything that had been stolen, including their livestock. David also took the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had with them, but
1 Samuel 30:18-20
he kept these separate from the others. Everyone agreed that these would be David’s reward.
The God of the universe, Who planned out the order of creation in seven days, Who distinguished the sea from the land, Who separated night from day, sun and moon, darkness and light; the God Who saw the beginning of the all things, and has foresight into the end of all things; the God Who gave mankind the gift of free will, and knows all the choices that he would ever make, and all the outcomes, in all possible combinations; the God Who knows that men would fall, and loved them anyway — this is the God Who is assuring us that He can restore whatever was broken, rebuild whatever was destroyed, and reclaim whatever was taken away.
It is not an easy promise to believe when you are in the middle of your grief. It is not an easy message to hear when the confusion of your current world is drowning out all other reasonable assurances. It is not an easy future to imagine when all you can see in front of you is chaos, endless chaos, and the walls are closing in, and it is hard to breathe.
But. Yet. However. Nevertheless.
God is not done yet.
There will be a day when the sun will break through the clouds, and you will see the deep blue and the shining silver once again. There will come a time when the atmosphere will clear, and the great open space will no longer be maddeningly, paradoxically, oppressive. You will welcome the freedom, and you will fill your lungs with air, crisp and fragrant and cool.
Do not live your life passively waiting for that day. Live as if it was already here; live knowing that it will come.
Don’t wait for your feelings to catch up. Feelings are fickle. God’s Word is forever.
