Godly grief provides boundaries so that we do not put personal gain ahead of righteousness.   #daybyday   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   They had been in Ziklag for a couple of days, resting from their war with the Amalekites, enjoying their families, and celebrating, when in the far distance, someone spotted a man coming into their city. His clothes were torn, his face covered with ash, the symbolic and ceremonial signs of mourning. It would be the equivalent of a parade of cars with their flashers on. This man asks around, looking to find David, the mighty warrior. And when he finally finds him, he falls down in front of David, paying respect and honor to him. But David knows by this man’s dress that he is in mourning, and quickly finds out that this man comes from the war that Saul and the men of Israel were fighting with the Philistines. And David asked, “How did it go?” The man begins to paint a picture in David’s mind: “The people, they fled, like deer escaping a burning forest, away from the battle. Some made it out, but many died on the battlefield, including Saul, and his son Jonathan.” David’s eyes grew to the size of platters, but he wanted certainty, so he asked, “How do you know for sure that Saul and Jonathan are dead?” The young man continued his story. “Sir, it just so happened that I was passing by Mount Gilboa, the same mount that Saul was on. And I saw him. He was weak, and injured, leaning on his spear just to be able to stand up. And when he caught a glimpse of me, he called me over to him. He asked me who I was, and I told him I was an Amalekite. And then your King, King Saul, asked me between labored breath, to stand over him and kill him. And sir, since he was mortally injured, but yet not dead, I did what he asked.” And then to offer even greater proof that Saul had really died, this young man pulled out of his bag Saul’s crown and armband and handed them to David. And bowed his head again to David. At this point we all might have an idea, or expectation, of what David might say or even do. After all, Saul is the man would had been chasing David all around the caves of the Promised Land. Saul was the madman who wanted to run a spear through David. So maybe we are thinking that the next words out of David’s mouth would be, “Finally! The old man is dead along with my own running from him.” OR MAYBE, “Now I can finally be king, like God desires! My time has come!” Read Text: 2 Samuel 1:11-12 “Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of Israel and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.” Maybe that wasn’t quite the reaction from David you were expecting. There is no dancing, no high-fiving, no congratulatory slaps on the back. Listen again to the laboring of the text: “David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. AND they mourned AND wept AND fasted until evening for Saul AND for Jonathan his son AND for the people of the LORD AND for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.” This is the humility of David on display. This is David’s humble and godly ability to see more going on than just the death of two people. This is deep, godly grief, and godly grief provides boundaries or reigns for us so that what might be personal gain does not get ahead of righteous grief.