Dropped

He was only five years old when his father and grandfather were killed in battle. His life of privilege and potential up to that point had not prepared him for the hard life he would face in the future. He was a little prince named Mephibosheth, and he was being raised by his godly father, Jonathan.

But dark clouds were gathering in his small world, and in a moment, through no fault of his own, his life would forever change.

Jonathan saw it coming. He knew that his father, Saul, was getting crazier by the day, so he started making preparations for the future. He made his friend David promise that he would take care of Jonathan’s descendents. David not only made that promise to Jonathan, but in doing so, he was making it to Saul as well.

When news hit the palace that Mephibosheth’s father and grandfather were killed in battle, his nurse was in a hurry to get Mephibosheth into hiding. She dropped him, and the little child was forever disabled. In fact, his name Mephibosheth means "a shameful thing," although there is nothing shameful about having a disability. (The only thing shameful is giving a child a name like that.) Mephibosheth was looked down on and was thought of as less than others. He was dropped in life.

Maybe, like Mephibosheth, you have been dropped in life. Maybe as a child you were mistreated, neglected, or abused. Maybe you were forgotten. Maybe you weren’t given a lot of hope when you were growing up.

The good news is that God specializes in taking people who have been dropped in life and picking them up again. I was dropped in life, but God reached out and picked me up. And He can do that for you as well.