If I Make My Bed in Hell, You Are There!

When we’ve made a wrong and regretful choice that brings unpleasant consequences, we sometimes hear that dreadful command, “You’ve made your bed. Now lie in it!”  Sometimes it comes from a family member or friend and sometimes we hear it in our own heads. It’s such a rude rebuke.

It’s not God’s way.

Certainly, consequences stand, but God does not leave us alone in them.  He doesn’t point stiffly to the mess we’ve made ordering, “Go!  Wallow in your mistake!  You’ve made your bed.  Now lie in it!”

Rather, he enters the consequence with us.

He provides covering and protection in the midst of our mess.

He provides guidance and ultimately a way out.

It’s been his way since the beginning.

When Adam and Even sinned and found themselves in a horrific mess of consequences, God, like a good father, entered their circumstance.

I hear panic in their voices as they try to cope with their plight alone, sewing fig leaves together with crippling fear, nervous fingers and pounding hearts.  I imagine their panic transform into anger as they fight for the first time, blaming each other for the shame they find themselves in.

But God didn’t leave them there alone with their hearts pounding.

He entered their somewhat self-instigated situation with a father’s love.  “Where are you?” he calls as they hide in fear.

And when he finds them, like a good daddy, he explains what is to come, what to expect now.  He clues them in on the tribulations ahead and promises a way out is coming.

Oh God, and then, with his strong daddy-arms, he sacrificed an animal to make a covering for them in their new hostile environment. He knew pain was coming.  He knew cold was coming.  He knew the shame was more than they could bear. I imagine he wept when he cut that first sacrifice.  Life for life.

I imagine they looked at him with awe and terror as they stood completely clueless.  I imagine their panic was mingled with gratitude that he entered their mess, that he was able to take care of business and he was indeed taking care of it.

I imagine they were horrified at the new matter of business in a world now under the reign of their newfound enemy.

David the Psalmist wrote, “If I make my bed in Hell, you are there!” (Psalm 139:8 NKJV)

This declaration speaks to more than the omnipresence of God. For the one who is regretful of his choices and the bed he has made, it brings great comfort and a promised escape from a place otherwise lonely, hopeless, ridden with fear and possibly panic.

For the young, unwed couple who made a baby, God’s desire is to walk you through this.

For the spouse who cheated, God’s desire is to walk you through this.

For the addict who wishes he didn’t waste it all on drugs, God’s desire is to walk you through this.

For the student who wished they had actually done their work, God’s desire is to walk you through this.

For all of us.  God’s desire is to see us through.

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Lord, I love you.  I love that you don’t leave me alone in my wrong and regretted choices. I love that you don’t point at my mistake and cry, “Shame on you!” Rather, you provide a way out and a covering to wear on the way.  I thank you that even if I go to jail, you are with me.  How very kind and gracious you are!  Even in the midst of my mistakes, you are with me.  You guide me.  You lead me.  You provide a way out for me.  How good and wonderful you are to me!  I am full of hope and courage!  If I make my bed in Hell, you are there!

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