Finding Hope In A Storm

This morning we are going to be talking about another character in the bible. While this character may not be the most known character, his life really speaks to what we all are going through right now.

Our character is found in the Old Testament and is the son of Jonathan and grandson of King Saul. Jonathan and King Saul died during the battle of Mount Gilboa. After their deaths, the nurse that was caring for Mephibosheth (Jonathans son) was running in panic and as a result dropped Mephiboseth causing him to never be able to walk again. This event occurred when Mephibosheth was only five years.

I. Living without hope

A. Depressed town

a. After all this occurred. Mephibosheth was moved to the town of Lo Debar. This town was located near the valley of Achor which is on the northern boundary of Judah.

b. When translating the towns name it gives us a picture of this place. The word LoDebar means “not having” or “no pasture”.

c. In fact, if we were translating the name of the town in English we would say the town is named Nothingsville.

d. To put plainly, Lo Debar was not a town that people sought out because of it’s amenities or schooling.

e. In fact, the people that lived and moved to Lo Debar where people that wanted to get away. People that did not want to be found.

f. It was a town of the forgotten, those that were lost, unskilled, uneducated and societies outcast moved there.

B. A place of rejection

a. Lo Debar was not a place of hope. It is a place of rejection. It was a place just to get by because you had no other options.

b. Lo Debar may not only be a physical place but it is also a mental place.

c. It is a dark place, a place that people feel trapped.

C. Not your fault

a. Mephibosheth was not in Lo Debar because he did something wrong.

b. He was only five years old when the nurse caring for him dropped him.

c. It was not his fault that his father and grandfather died in battle.

d. It was not his fault that he had suffered these things in his life.

e. Just like it is not your fault that you were verbally abused, or physically abuse.

i. It is not your fault you had no father or mother in your life to raise you

ii. No one to show you love and attention

iii. To build you up and build confidence.

D. God cares

a. While you might have been dropped because of others carelessness. Just know that that God is there for you to pick you up. He cares for you!

b. The bible says in Matthew 11:28-30(NKJV) 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

c. You do not have to carry life’s burdens on your own. You do not have to live in LoDebar alone.

d. God is with us. He will never leave us! He will never for sake us! He stays closer than an brother.

II. Last Day in LoDebar

A. God is aware of our situation

a. There are those that are watching right now that have been abused as a child. Whether this abuse was verbal or physical. There are people watching right now that are struggling with drug addiction, alcohol addiction, adultery, and depression to name a few.

b. These struggles are keeping you from having a close relationship with God.

c. They are causing you to act out in frustration, to be full of anger, to be always moody.

d. You are stuck and there seems to be no way of escape.

e. You feel like you cannot talk about it because you are embarrassed or ashamed of what others may think.

f. So you are trapped in LoDebar.

B. Hope

a. There is hope. We can look at this nurse that caused all these problems for Mephibosheth and blame her.

b. Before you do that, let me share something with you.

c. In those days, it was common for the new king to eliminate the entire prior regimes family.

d. That is the reason the nurse was running away.

e. We are picking up our story in 2 Samuel 9 (NKJV) 9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!” 3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”And he answered, “Here is your servant!” 7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” 8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.