Once a simple shepherd boy, David enjoyed the luxuries of a king. Accustomed to wealth and women, he took Bathsheba though she belonged to another. When his infidelity led to an unexpected pregnancy, the man who once felled a giant stooped low in desperation and penned a missive that sealed a faithful soldier’s death. Rather than confess his sin to Bathsheba’s husband, David sentenced him to death on the battlefield. But grief and sorrow are inextricably linked to sin.

Sources of Sorrow and Grief

The sources of grief and sorrow can be distilled into a few distinct categories.

When we sin against God, we suffer unfortunate ramifications. While David thought he had committed the perfect murder, God knew the truth and revealed the horrible results of David’s choices through a prophet. Read 2 Samuel 12: 7-10, 12-14 (NRSV) below:

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.  For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’  David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.

David wrote Psalm 32 in response to his sin with Bathsheba. Consider the expression of his sorrow in verses 3-4.

           When I kept silent,
            my bones wasted away
            through my groaning all day long.
              For day and night
           your hand was heavy on me;
           my strength was sapped
           as in the heat of summer.

Even before the prophet forewarned David of coming calamity, David described the weight of his grief. Sin gnaws at us from the inside and erodes our relationship with God–the one who knows us most intimately. Fortunately, recovery of relationship is found in renouncing sin. (Psalm 32:5)

When others sin against us, we grapple with the results. Though many cast Bathsheba as a seductress, it is likely she had no choice but to comply with David’s demands. As king, David wielded the power of life and death. Because of one man’s desire, a woman lost her husband, home, and a child.

When life is unlike the paradise for which we naturally long. God made us for Paradise. We yearn for it; grieving loss each time suffering steals into our lives through death, mental illness, an unexpected diagnosis, or broken relationship.

Why Sorrow and Grief Don’t Need to Destroy Our Faith

Sorrow flows through the body like blood–flooding the heart and mind with unbearable grief. Regardless of sorrow’s source, the ache it creates weighs heavy on the soul. If you are in that place, I am sorry.

In His letter to the Corinthians, Paul encouraged those who had sinned with these words, ^“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10-11 NIV).  While sin like David’s lead to death and destruction, repentance restores–leading to life and regret-free living.

When others lead us into sorrow by sinning against us, God releases us from bearing the burden of bitterness. Instead, scripture command forgiveness and reassures that God–who saw David’s sin with Bathsheba and horrific murder of a faithful warrior–will deliver justice.

Tragedy inevitably strikes each of us and we often wander through the wilderness, crying out in desperation for rescue. But the wilderness seasons always end. God always provides a way into His promises and leads us toward safety. Psalm 9:9 reminds us, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

A Final Thought

Perhaps the most beautiful promise of all? Sorrow has its limits in this short life.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NIV)

Peace and grace,

Tammy

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