You Can Live... With It

When we look at today’s key passage, we learn a lot about the life of Tamar. She suffered quite a bit, but her story is one of strength and hope, even in the midst of pain, loss, and struggle. She didn’t like that these things happened, she didn’t endorse them, but she didn’t let them keep her from living. Despite the succession of losses she sustained, she survived. Think about it—she lost her virginity, dignity, sense of decency, virtue, innocence, and confidence. She had been preserving herself for the distinct privilege of presenting herself as pure to the man of her dreams, and now all of that had been taken away. Yet, while life had robbed her, she wasn’t robbed of life. With everything that Amnon took from her, he didn’t take everything. She had lost a lot, but she also had a lot left. And the same is true for you. So in this message today, I want us to look closely at what we can learn from Tamar’s life so we can apply her example to our own experiences of suffering and loss.