by Shannon Tillman | Apr 3, 2025 | Bible Study, Thoughts
Neglect. Adultery. Manipulation. Murder. Cover-up.
David committed all of these sins as he neglected to go to war as a king should do. He then had an affair with Bathsheba since her husband was away on the battlefield. Upon discovery of her pregnancy, David called Uriah, her husband, home in an attempt to get him to sleep with his wife so the pregnancy could not be pinned on David. When that plan did not work, he had Uriah killed in battle. David took Bathsheba for his wife to wrap up the entire mess, so his baby was born in the palace.
2 Samuel 11:27b
But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
The Lord sent Nathan, a prophet, to confront David on his actions. David had committed all of these sins about a year earlier, yet there had been no sign of repentance until the day Nathan rebuked him.
2 Samuel 12:9a
Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?
It is in the midst of this conversation that David finally admitted that he had done wrong.
2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
This was not all that David did in his repentance. He wrote a song which is now recorded as Psalm 51. In the song, he laments his sin and asks restoration of his relationship with the Lord.
Psalm 51:1-2
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
David understood that he not only needed God’s mercy to forgive what he had done in the past, but he also needed help to live differently in the future.
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
David wrote an allegory to explain the emotional healing that takes place in confession. In his poetic discord, David gave a visual of what this healing is like.
Psalm 51:8
…let the bones which you have broken rejoice.
When a bone breaks, the bone marrow cells send a message for other cells to help the body heal. The result of these extra cells causes inflammation. Then, a substance known as callus surrounds the broken bone. Callus is a soft substance so the bone needs to be held in place during this stage of healing so no further damage occurs. That is why a broken bone is stabilized in a cast. Eventually, new cells come and form a new bone. The process takes weeks.
When do broken bones rejoice? When they are healed. If we do not go through the healing process, the “broken bones” of our lives will stay shattered instead of strengthened. The healing takes time. The healing involves steps. There is a process to be able to regain what was lost. It is not immediate, but it can come. God forgives in the moment, but restoration takes time. We want to be healed so as to be protected to not sin in the same way again.
What in your life is broken? What is not working? Do not ignore the signs but instead focus on healing in that area.
I have to do this in my own life often. The Lord shows me a sin area and takes me into root causes of that sin. Some of the issues are deep enough that I have enlisted counseling. No matter the sin issue, I always share my broken places with trusted friends for I know that vulnerability and accountability lead to transformation. We should value our healing so much that we are willing to do whatever it takes to be whole. Too many people are going through life with obvious “broken” areas which everyone else can see. However, nothing can be done to help the person until there is an acknowledgment that the “emotional bones” are hurt. Healing can be attained but only if one humbles himself to receive the help of God and others.
If we broke our arm, it would be foolish to not go to a doctor. Yet, we do not take our broken lives to our Heavenly Physician. Often, others in our lives attempt to point out areas for change, but we ignore them. By doing this, we only delay or even further damage the broken places, leading us to more sin and consequences. Sadly, this hurts not only ourselves but others in the process.
We must not delay any longer! It is time for the broken places in our hearts to be healed. Our Heavenly Physician and others help us in the process and let us know when it is time for the “cast” to come off so we can be reinstated into service. Then, our broken bones will rejoice! The joy will be evident in our lives and seen by others. We will then know we are truly whole!
(By the way, this blog stems from thoughts I wrote about myself in my journal in 2023. Now, God is dealing with me on a whole other set of broken areas in my life. He is such a good Doctor. I hope to become even more healed and whole this year! Let the broken bones rejoice!)
by Shannon Tillman | Mar 27, 2025 | Bible Study
I was so tired. A certain health issue combined with family stress had caused my body to crash. The idea of washing dishes seemed to be too overwhelming, much less accomplishing anything that really seemed to matter. The fatigue was not as discouraging as the thoughts of all the things I “should” be doing. Failure seemed to mock me on every side. I was definitely not doing “enough” based on some idea or expectation of what I assumed “enough” should look like.
God, in His gentle mercy, reminded me that I am not accountable to what I think I “should” do. Also, I am not accountable to the opinion of others or what they consider I “should” do. Instead, moment by moment I just need to be aware of the Lord. He will lead me in His time and in His way. On that difficult day, the Lord just called me to rest in His mercy, comfort, and strength.
When Jesus arrived on the scene, the Jewish community had their ideas of what the Messiah “should” do. He should rescue them from Rome, conquer all their enemies, reign from Jerusalem as their King, and usher in the Messianic era. Their expectations came from promises written in the Old Testament. One of these many Messianic prophesies could be found in the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 61:2
“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God…”
The Messiah will declare favor over His people and vengeance over the enemy. The Israelites were waiting for this promised victory and believed the time had come for its fulfillment. Jesus had other news for them.
Luke 4:16-20a
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
“Wait a minute, Jesus. You only said the first part of the promise from Isaiah. We want to see vengeance on the enemy. We want to see Rome conquered and an earthly kingdom set up. Why did you stop halfway and not complete this section of scriptures?”
Jesus knew what God had called Him to do in that season of life. He knew that in His first coming, this was what He would accomplish, nothing more, nothing less. The people’s expectation of what Messiah “should” do was not going to influence what the Lord had already determined to happen. Jesus did not put more expectations on Himself or cave to the expectations of others. He simply stayed with the mission.
Luke 4:20b-21
The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus models the timing of ministry. He knew what He was to accomplish at that time and He knows what He will do in the future. Jesus will return to earth and will reign as King. He will conquer every enemy. However, that was not the purpose of His first coming. There was a gap of time in between that was not understood by the people. Jesus was not living according to their ideas; He was following God’s will. Thus, He was faithfully completing the part of the plan He was called to at that time.
By the way, Jesus knew the people would not like the fact that He was not going to meet their expectations.
Luke 4:24-27
And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
Jesus was letting them know that even the Old Testament gave accounts where the Gentiles (non-Jews) received from the Lord while the Jewish people did not. God’s intention for salvation encompassed all people, not just the Jews. Jesus knew His death on the cross would provide access to the Father for everyone who chooses to believe. Since this was not an expectation they had of the Messiah, the people were enraged at Jesus.
Luke 4:28-29
And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.
They attempted to kill Jesus! This is His hometown of Nazareth so the crowd would have included some family and friends. (When I was struggling with my family, Jesus reminded me that although my situation was hard and painful, cruel and mean, at least my family did not try to throw me over a cliff like His did!) Their hostility did not change the mission Jesus was on.
Luke 4:30
But passing through their midst, He went His way.
Jesus knew it was not time for Him to die. He was to proclaim good news, freedom, and God’s favor. He would continue to do what God had told Him to do until He would faithfully accomplish another set of prophesies from Isaiah:
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
One day, Jesus will return and fulfill the rest of the Messianic promises in Scripture. He will rescue His people, vanquish the enemy, and reign from Jerusalem. Until that day, we are to be faithful to the Lord and not be weighed down by all we think we “should” do or by the expectations of others. God will tell us His plan for us and guide our steps so we can fulfill the purpose He has for us in this season of life.
by Shannon Tillman | Mar 13, 2025 | Bible Study
I avoid doctors. Due to the fact that I have become nauseous just looking at the medical posters on the wall, I treat the medical community as an unwanted, unnecessary, evil intruder in my life. However, years ago, when I had some very suspicious and concerning medical situations arise, I immediately made an appointment. Thankfully, the medical scare was something benign.
Why does it usually take a crisis until we pay attention? Throughout the Bible, it is often the pains of life that cause people to cry out to God, to change their ways, and to receive the help they need.
The book of Jeremiah documents many losses Israel suffered because of their refusal to repent of their sin. The prophets had been warning the people for hundreds of years to forsake idols and to return to the Lord their God. The people did not listen. The Lord allowed outside pressures to continue to accumulate, but it was to no avail. Finally, the Lord let the people know that they would be captured by the enemy, many would be killed, others would be taken as slaves, and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. And it all happened just as the Lord had declared through Jeremiah who saw the destruction of his people and his land.
The pain, though, had a purpose.
Jeremiah 31:1
At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
The Lord longs for relationship. He will allow adversity to bring us back to Himself. He wants to be God over every family. He wants us to be His people, not in name only but in character. The nation of Israel had the label of being “God’s people” but did not act in accordance to God’s ways. Often, we too do the same. We may be “Christians” but not look like Christ. When God is our God, then He makes us His people. In any area of our lives where God is not God, then we do not act, respond, or live like His people. Instead, we live and act according to what we prioritize over the Lord. For example, we may respond with control instead of trust, or pity instead of prayer, or drowning our sorrows in food or shopping compared to seeking the Lord. The hardships in life strip away the idols that we worship so that we may truly be connected to the heart of our Father in heaven. It is discipline with a purpose.
Hebrews 12:9-11
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
The discipline is to bring us into holiness, the very character of God. It is so we can enjoy our relationship with Him. The discipline is not to continue endlessly. There is a point of time that God has determined to bring wholeness back into our lives.
Jeremiah 31:1
AT THAT TIME,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” (emphasis mine)
God looks forward to the exact moment when the relationship thrives between the Lord and His people and between one another. Families are restored as we forsake idols and serve God alone. We become His people, reflecting His heart towards others. The discipline leads to encountering God in a way we have never experienced before.
Jeremiah 31:2-3
Thus says the Lord, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when it went to find its rest.” The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
The discipline was an act of love to draw us out from our idols to the wilderness, to be in a place where it is only the person and God. We then encounter His grace, rest, and love. Here, we have Him speak His personal love messages to us. Then, He commissions us to healing and joy.
Jeremiah 31:4-5
“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you will take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.”
The discipline not only rescues us from ourselves and from our idols, but it enables us to make a difference in the lives of others.
Jeremiah 31:5-6
“Again you will plant vineyards On the hills of Samaria; The planters will plant and will enjoy them. “For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”
Others will reap the fruit of our changed lives and will discover the Lord God. How much better than for others to reap the destruction caused by our idols! As we evaluate our lives, may anything not of the Lord be a point of repentance and may the ways of the Lord be embraced. We want to be one of “God’s people” in every area of our lives so that our families and those around us can also be impacted by the Lord.
Maybe today is time for a “spiritual” check-up. Lord, show us where we are your people and where we are not acting like your people. Help us to repent and change. We can rejoice together over our lives being transformed by your grace and love!
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 27, 2025 | Bible Study
“It just didn’t work out”. This sentence summarizes an end to a situation or a relationship. However, this statement is from our perspective, not from God’s point of view. The Lord has a different summary over our circumstances:
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
God says “It will work out”. We may not know when or how, but it will work for good even if we are not around to see it happen.
Such was the case for the prophet Isaiah. He would not live to see the miracle from the murder. This story began not with a crime, but instead with a healing from a death bed.
2 Kings 20:1-6a
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life…
Hezekiah was on the verge of death, yet God added fifteen years to his life. This is one of those “hallelujah moments”. Imagine how faith in the Lord increased by all of those who had witnessed this miraculous event. Isaiah had the honor of declaring the word of the Lord to king Hezekiah and to see the king recover. God honored His promise and Hezekiah lived another fifteen years. During this time, he fathered a son named Manasseh who would become king after his father’s death.
2 Kings 21:1-3
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
Manasseh was evil. His father, Hezekiah, had been a godly king, but Manasseh was considered the most wicked king in all of Judah’s history. He not only set up idols, he sacrificed some of his children to them. He practiced witchcraft and placed evil images in the holy temple of the Lord. God told the prophets that Manasseh was more wicked than the nations that had been driven out of the Promised Land before Israel settled there.
2 Kings 21:9
…Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.
His evil corrupted the nation of Judah which followed his wicked ways. This led to a loss of many lives, for Manasseh was a cold-blooded killer.
2 Kings 21:16
Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
According to ancient Jewish and Christian tradition, the prophet Isaiah was killed by king Manasseh. He was murdered by being sawed in two. Some scholars believe a verse of Hebrews may reference Isaiah’s death:
Hebrews 11:37-38
They were put to death by stoning; they were SAWED IN TWO; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (emphasis mine)
Let’s put the pieces together. Isaiah informed Hezekiah that the king was about to die. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord. God told Isaiah to let Hezekiah know that his life would be extended fifteen years. Three years later, Manasseh was born. Nine years after that, Hezekiah died and Manasseh became the most murderous, idolatrous king in Judah’s history. His reign of terror included killing the very prophet who was a part of his father’s miraculous healing.
Can you imagine Isaiah’s cries to the Lord? He had to witness the complete surrender of the nation to evil, such evil that people were killed to appease these false gods. Isaiah knew Manasseh was born after the miraculous healing of Hezekiah. “Why, Lord?” If Hezekiah had died, Manasseh would not have been born to kill so many people, to entice the nation to idolatry, witchcraft, and perversion. On top of the wretchedness Isaiah witnessed in the nation, he himself is murdered by Manasseh. I think an understatement would be to say “That didn’t work out”. This story has so many heart-wrenching questions and layers that seem to end in only allowing evil to triumph and good to be destroyed. Except, God intervenes in a surprising way.
2 Chronicles 33:10-11
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.
The Lord had given warnings, most likely even through the prophet Isaiah. For the book of Isaiah records many warnings to the people of Judah. Yet, Manasseh and the people ignored the warnings. The Lord allowed Manasseh to be taken prisoner to a foreign land.
If this was the end of the story, we could at least settle for our ideas of justice taking place. Yet, this justice turns into a miracle.
2 Chronicles 33:12-13
When he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
Manasseh, the murderous idol worshipper, becomes a believer in the Lord God! Manasseh, the evil king, became the humbled prisoner, was miraculously released from prison and allowed to rule again in Judah. This time, he reigned with a new heart.
2 Chronicles 33:15-16
He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. He set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
The idol worshiper becomes an evangelist of the Lord! Only God could have foreseen such a tremendous ending to an otherwise horrendous story.
On the day Isaiah died, it may have seemed that “Things didn’t work out”. The truth is, it worked out for a greater, miraculous good than could have ever been imagined. God is faithful to His promise:
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Whatever situation that looks like it is not working out in our lives, means that it is not yet over. The final chapter has not been written. At some point whether we are still on earth, or only seeing the highlights in heaven, we will be able to testify that God did work it out for good and it is truly marvelous!
What do we need to do while we wait for God to work it all for good? We must pray. Manasseh cried out to the Lord from his prison cell and received a miracle. His father, Hezekiah, had cried out to the Lord from his death bed and received a miracle. Cry out to God, in your situation that looks hopeless and wait for the Lord to intervene and bring a miracle.
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 20, 2025 | Bible Study, Thoughts
My husband and I have been walking through a season of profound loss over the last few years. Every part of our lives has been impacted. My heart would still be grieving over one loss when another would burst upon the scene. My emotions felt so raw and our lives so mangled. At a conference I spoke at, I told the crowd that we were living a country song because we even lost our precious dog. You can’t get more country than that!
My prayers seemed to be more tears than words. My dear prayer partners were often left speechless as the events of my life unfolded; they did not know what to say to even attempt to encourage me. The book of Job was sometimes referenced and I often heard, “I don’t know, but I can pray for you.” Their prayers for me were so precious because they knew I did not have any more prayer inside to pour out. One day, I said to the Lord, “I have been stripped of everything.” There was not a single area of life that I could point to that had not been devastated in some way.
The Lord’s answer to me was gentle but clear, “If something or someone is already surrendered, it would not be stripped.”
At first, I was taken aback by what He said. Did that mean God stripped me to punish me? But then my mind felt the words of Job:
Job 1:21
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Job spoke these words after the loss of all his possessions, the loss of the majority of his servants, and the loss of all ten of his children. It was not the Lord who actually caused the devastation; Satan did that.
Job 1:8-12
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Satan proceeded in wreaking havoc in Job’s life. Yet, Job responded in worship rooted in His profound trust of the Lord. Job understood that God is sovereign even over the enemy’s devastation in our lives.
Job 1:22
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Life will have its share of pain and loss. Jesus even promised it:
John 16:33b
“…In this world you will have trouble…”
That is usually not the promise people print out and stick on their mirror for encouragement for the day. “Yippee, I get to face trouble today!” We want the promises of victory, strength, blessings, healing, and prosperity; not verses on trouble.
The truth is, life is trouble. We live in a fallen world, with sinful people (which I am one of especially when I am hungry, so this is your warning), with a powerful enemy who seeks to destroy us. There will be losses; there will be pain; there will be heartaches; there will be death.
If we hold tightly onto the people and things around us, losses will feel like pieces of our heart are being stripped away. But when we surrender each piece, each person as painful as it may be, we are surrendering to the sovereign God who rules over every situation in our lives. I realized that day God was inviting me to surrender my pain to Him. Instead of staying focused on all that was stripped from us, I needed to look to the one who was over my entire life. “Lord, I do not understand why this was allowed to happen, but I choose to trust you.” The loss was the same, but my heart was changed.
I knew God could have prevented everything that happened and the season we are still walking through. He is mighty, powerful, and able to perform miracles. Yet, in my world I still have trouble. I can blame God or I can blame others which just keeps me distant from true comfort in my time of pain. I can focus on the losses and stay stuck in the question of “why” which magnifies every painful situation and leaves me feeling like a victim in a cosmic war. Or I can surrender each heartbreak to the Lord and trust that He sees, He knows, and He will eventually bring blessing out of the pain in His timing and in His way.
Job 42:12
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.
There will be a moment when I will finally see the goodness of God in each area of my life that has been impacted by the severe losses we have suffered. In the end, the blessing of God will overtake the destruction of the enemy. I do not know when that will take place or how it will look in the end. However, I know I can trust all that has been surrendered to Him.
Job 1:21b
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.
