How the Mighty Fell

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 90, How the Mighty Fell.

"Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!" 2 Samuel 1:19.

These are the first words David speaks after receiving news of Saul and Jonathan's deaths. And I want you to pause and notice something surprising here: Saul was the man who pursued David for years, who tried to kill him more than once, who forced him to live as a fugitive in the wilderness. And yet, when the news arrives, David does not celebrate. He tears his clothes. He weeps. He composes a lament.

This teaches us something profound about true grief: it doesn't require the person who is gone to have been perfect, or the relationship to have been easy. David managed to separate the pain of loss from the history of conflict he lived with Saul. He wept for the king of Israel, for the LORD's anointed, even though it was the same man who had hunted him.

And notice what he did with that pain: he did not hide it, did not pretend everything was fine, did not rush past it too quickly. He put the pain into words. A poem. A lament. And he had it taught to all the people of Judah. The pain was expressed, recorded, preserved — because denying pain doesn't make it disappear, it only hides it for a while.

"How the mighty have fallen" repeats throughout the lament, like an echo. Saul was strong. Jonathan was brave. And still, both fell on the same day, in the same battle. No human strength, however great it appears, escapes the fragility of life. That should humble us, and at the same time draw us closer to God, who is the only strength that never wavers.

David could have used this moment to celebrate. The path to the throne, which God had already promised him, was finally clear. But he chose honor over revenge, mourning over celebration. And notice this: before stepping into what God had promised him, he stopped. He felt the loss. He processed the pain before moving forward.

My friend, maybe you have lost someone — or something — where the relationship was complicated. Maybe even painful. But David's example shows us it is possible to honor someone's memory even when the story wasn't simple.

So here is the call for today: write or speak aloud one word of honor about someone you've lost, even if the relationship was complicated. Let the pain have its space, and let the honor have its space too.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.