“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba . . .’”
—2 Samuel 11:2-3 NIV

The story of David and Bathsheba is very well known, but it is rarely told from her perspective.

Bathsheba lost it all.

She lost her dignity when King David saw her bathing on her roof and took her to his palace to sleep with her.

She lost her husband when David sent him to the front lines of battle and abandoned him to die.

She also lost her first child just days after giving birth.

I don’t know what you’re going through or where you are right now, but when you hit rock bottom it’s easy to think that your story is over. That there’s no future.

The story of Bathsheba is tragic, but it can also give us hope.

There was no way to restore what she had lost, but God did not abandon her in her desolation. He blessed her with another child, one of the most famous kings of Israel, and she became a direct ancestor of Christ.

She became a key figure in God’s story.

The life of Bathsheba and the Imperfect Nativity remind us of this: in our lowest moments, God is with us.

Here’s a simple prayer to carry with you today:

Breathe in: God, help me see:
Breathe out: This is not the end.