When Everything Falls Apart

Everything can look fine on the outside while your world is collapsing on the inside, relationships shift, plans fail, and you feel like you’re just trying to stay afloat. I’m opening 2 Samuel 15 through 17 and sitting in the heaviest part of David’s story, when his own son Absalom turns on him and David has to flee Jerusalem. This isn’t David in victory. This is David in consequence, and it’s exactly why his response matters so much. 

We talk about the difference between random hardship and the aftermath of what we’ve practiced, and why God’s forgiveness doesn’t always erase the walk through what comes after. 

Then 2 Samuel 17 shows the hidden hand of God, when the best plan to destroy David gets frustrated behind the scenes. And because this lands on Easter, we end with the biggest hope of all: David lives with consequences of sin, but Jesus takes the consequences for ours. If your life feels like it’s falling apart, let this be your reminder that God is still moving. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more hearts can find this message.

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Transcript

Welcome And Devotional Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, hello. You're listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast episode 103. This week's devotional is titled When Everything Falls Apart, 2 Samuel 15 through 17, Study of David. Let's go. Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan. I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart. My journey in love for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hawk Podcast. This is a weekly devotional I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier. It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born four months early in 2023. Through that challenging time, God worked in ways that truly amazed me. On this podcast, I share personal stories of faith woven together with Scripture to show just how incredible God's word can be in our everyday lives. My hope is that through these stories, you'll be encouraged, uplifted, and reminded of God's love and presence, no matter what you're going through. So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together. Let's all pray within. Well, before I get into today's episode, I just want to say happy Easter. Jesus has risen. Excited for this Easter weekend, so just to start that out that way. Anyways, today's episode is for the people who feel like everything is unraveling at once. Like nothing is stable. People are acting different. Things aren't going how you expected. And you're just trying to keep your footing. You're trying to stay afloat. We're walking into 2 Samuel 15 through 17. I did touch on 15 last week, but we're really going to focus it on the second half of 15 and then going into 16 and 17. And I'm telling you, this is the part of David's story where it's just so heavy. It's just really heavy. Because this isn't the date, this isn't the David, the giant slayer. This isn't David in victory. This is David in collapse. So here's what's happening in uh 2 Samuel 15. We're going to set the scene. Um David's own son Absalon rises against him, has rised, basically created a rebellion against his father to take the throne. And he steals the heart of the people, and David is forced to flee Jerusalem. Imagine that. And what gets me is this didn't, this didn't come out of nowhere. This is the aftermath. This is the consequence catching up. Now remember, we go back to 2 Samuel 11, where he had, you know, he committed, you know, the adultery with Bathsheba and he got Uriah killed her husband. So this is the consequence from that. Remember, the prophet, the prophet Nathan told him that he will have severe consequences within his household. So this is it. And I think that's what makes this story so different, is because the consequences are catching up. We're going to go through these consequences. Because sometimes what we're walking through isn't random. Sometimes it's, like I said, the aftermath. So this actually reminds me of something from when I was younger and it fits this so well. A little bit lighter, but still I think it really fits this well. Um, when I was turning 16, I was ready to get my driver's license. Every 16-year-old in America looks forward to that, right? I had been driving, I practiced, I had my learner's permit, I felt confident. So I go to take the test and I fail immediately. I didn't turn fully to look behind me when backing out the car. And I remember being so embarrassed. My dad was outside waiting for me, and I just waved him over, like, let's go, daddy, come on, daddy, let's go. And he was like, Jess, what's going on? Let's go, daddy, let's go. I didn't even want to explain it. So I go home, wait a month, come back again. This time, I'm like, okay, I've got it. I'm driving, everything feels fine. I come to a stop, I stop, and then I go. A few minutes later, the instructor tells me to pull over into a parking space. She looks at me and says, You failed. And I said, What did I do? And she said, You didn't fully stop. You did a slingshot stop. And again, my dad was outside and I was like, Let's go, dad, let's go, let's go, dad. I'm just so embarrassed. And he's like, Jess, what happened? Let's go, let's go. But what I realized later, in all this happening, there those weren't random mistakes. Those were habits. I had gotten used to doing things slightly wrong, not fully stopping, not fully checking. And I didn't and I didn't think it really mattered until it cost me twice. And I had to sit with that because I wasn't just in a moment of failure. I was living in the consequence of what I had practiced. But I went back a third time and I passed. I was careful, I was intentional, I had learned, and sometimes that's what it looks like. You mess up, you face the consequence, but you don't stay there, you grow from it. And I'm telling you, I'm 39 years old, and when I go when I drive up to a stop sign, I really do stop. So now let's take it back. And um that's what we're seeing with David. And he's not just in crisis, he's living in consequence. But listen to this and the stance that he had in 2 Samuel 15, 25 through 26. It says, Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord's eye, he will bring me back. If he says, I'm not pleased with you, then I am ready. Let him do to me whatever seems good to him. This is surrender. This is a man saying, Even in this, I trust God. So David refuses to control the outcome. He lets go, and some of us are trying to hold everything together when God's asking us to trust him. This is the fall. This is a surrender. This is a process David's going through. This is a process we all go through or need to go through. So then we go into the second portion of like David's process of what he's going through, the humbling. I say, um, this is 2 Samuel 16. So let's take a look at this. In 2 Samuel 16, things get even messier. David is lied to, he is misunderstood, and then he's publicly cursed. And instead of defending himself, he stays quiet. Listen to this in 2 Samuel 16, 10 through 12. This is what he this is what he says. Let him curse. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore me to his covenant blessing. David doesn't fight back when this person is mocking him and cursing him as he's literally fleeing from Jerusalem with no shoes. He doesn't fight back. He trusts God with his reputation. And I think some of us need to hear that. Not every attack needs your response. I'm gonna say that again. Not every attack needs your response. I have to hear that again. Sometimes God is asking you to be still and let him handle it. And so the next portion of this process that he's going through, this aftermath, is I call it um the hidden hand. 2 Samuel 17, and it says, now in 17 we see something incredible. There's a plan made that could have destroyed David, but it was rejected. And Scripture says in 2 Samuel 17, 14, it says, The Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice in order to bring disaster on Absalom, meaning God stepped in quietly and visibly for David's sake, and David had no idea. Absalom was given really great advice on how to capture his father, kill him, and take over the throne. And he took the advice from another advisor that took gave him the worst advice ever on purpose, and Absalom took the bait. So, anyways, this whole story here, I feel I have another really good story from my past that I think would really resonate and be able to tie this in really well. So, and this really reminds me of a sea season in my life where things weren't just hard, they were confusing. So here it goes. Um, nothing was working out the way I thought it should, to be honest. And when I was working at Macy's, there was a role I always wanted-a field director type role. I didn't get it. Then I moved to New York. I tried to pivot into beauty, didn't get into that either when I was working for Macy's in Herald Square. Then I applied to Sephora while I was still working for Macy's because I, to be honest, I kind of wasn't happy at Macy's at that at one point in time when I was working in New York. So I said, hey, like look at other opportunities. So at the time, Sephora was everything. It was at the height of its you know existence in retail, and it was doing really well. And I felt like it would have been a good it's a good opportunity to pursue and apply to Sephora. So I went to a meet and greet that I was invited to by the company, and I connected with recruiters, interviewed the whole nine. And everything felt promising. And then weeks go by, then six weeks, nothing. I followed up. They said, Oh, we'll move you to the next step. I was like, okay, great. Then I interviewed again. Another six to seven weeks, nothing. Then another interview, then eight more weeks, nothing, no rejection, no direction, just silence. And I remember feeling so frustrated because it wasn't just a no, it was confusion. I was like, why would you take me through all of this if this isn't going anywhere? And in my mind, I kept thinking, This makes sense. This would be good for me going to Sephora. Why is this not working? But then I made a decision. It was about five months later I decided I wanted to move back to Miami. And within six months of moving back to Miami, I got promoted, and then they placed me in beauty, something I had tried and failed to get into before. And a year later, I became a field director in beauty, the very place I had once been shut out of. And now, when I look back, all those delays, all that silence, all those closed doors, that wasn't rejection. That was God redirecting me. Because if those doors had opened, I might have been somewhere I wasn't meant to be. And at the time, it felt like everything was falling apart, but God was working the whole time. And that's exactly what's happening in David's story. Everything looks like it's falling apart, but God is still working in places that he can't see. And this is where it all to me, I feel, even connects to Easter and why this matters so much. Because when we look at David, we see a man living in consequences of his sin. But when we look at Jesus, we see the one who came to take the consequences from ours for ours. Jesus suffered, he was rejected, he was beaten, he was mocked, he was crucified. He didn't deserve any of it. He took all the weight of our sin so that we could have salvation. So that one day we could be with him in heaven. And what's so powerful is this in the middle of all that suffering when Jesus died for those three days, it looked like everything was over, right? God was still working, God was still moving. It took, it looked like defeat, it looked like loss, it looked like the end, but God already knew, God already knew. In three days, he was going to raise his son from the dead. In three days, everything was going to change. In three days, salvation would be secured. God was moving, even when it looked like everything had fallen apart. And I just want to encourage you with this. Because some of you are in a season right now where things just feel hard, where you're dealing with consequences, where you're walking through situations that you wish you could change. And yes, God forgives. He does, he forgives. But sometimes we still have to work through what comes after. And that's hard. But hear me, please hear me out. That does not mean you are stuck there. God is still moving, God is still working, even through your mistakes, even through our our own other people's decisions, even in the mess. And when I look at David in this season of his life, after everything with Bathsheba, after all the consequences, do you notice something with David? He doesn't manipulate God anymore. He doesn't force outcomes, he doesn't try to take control. He simply says, if I find favor in the Lord, he will bring me back. That's trust. And that's the question for us. Can we trust God like that? Even in the hardest moments of our lives, even when things feel like they're falling apart. Because if you do, God will keep moving. God will keep working. He will work through things you don't understand yet, through people, through situations, through closed doors, through other people's mistakes. But that's who God is. God works in ways we can't always see, but he is always working. Just remember that. Love you all. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your grace. Thank you for even when we fall, even when we make mistakes, you don't leave us. Help us to protect, help us to trust you, Lord, especially in the moments when things feel like they're falling apart. Give us the strength to walk through consequences with humility and the faith to believe that you are still working, even when we can't see it, Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice, for your love, and for the salvation we have because of you. Remind us that our story isn't over and that you are always moving on our behalf, Lord. Father, thank you so much for the study of David. Bless everyone and everyone who listened to this, you know, I pray that they're blessed and that they're they feel cherished and they feel loved and supported. Father, we love you and we praise you. Thank you so much for Easter. Thank you for your son. Thank you for allowing him to die on the cross for our sins, Lord, so we have salvation, so we have everlasting life. We thank you so much for that, Lord. We give you the praises for that. Father, we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Love you all. Happy Easter. Well, that wraps up this week's episode. I hope these devotions help you draw closer to God each day. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who might need the same message. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a weekly episode. Also, if you feek if you feel compelled, leaving a nice review would be so appreciated as well. For more information or to reach out, check the show notes or visit jessimorganhome.com or find me on Instagram at Jessie MorganLife. Remember, God's timing is always perfect. Keep trusting him. Until next time, this is Jesse Morgan praying off.