Learning is part of our natural way of growing. If we want to grow, we’d better cherish each learning opportunity.
In a previous article, we took a look at two different learning styles. We looked at Jonah- The STUBBORN HEART that says: ‘I am a control freak. I only trust my way of doing things. If God wants to teach me, He’d better be creative in getting my attention, because I don’t give up easily.’
Then we learned from Joseph- the CALM HEART that says: ‘What I’m going through is not pleasant, but God is with me. I will keep calm and carry on because I know God is in control. I will choose to live with full integrity.’
Today we’re gleaning wisdom from David- the MESSY HEART.
No matter who you identify most with, there is hope in each situation.
David Style- The Messy Heart
The Messy Heart says: ‘My sacrifice is a broken spirit because I know God doesn’t despise it.’
The Bible is not bashful about portraying a genuine picture of ones true identity. David is a wonderful restoration example. We learn from him how to recover from a messy situation.
The much loved King David, the one After God’s Heart, is introduced first as a talented musician and a fierce warrior. As King Saul is declining, David is arising. As David gains power, he gives into temptation of abusing it.
Let’s dig dipper in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and 12.
A day off. Not staying busy enough.
“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” 2 Sam. 11:1
For reasons that are not mentioned, David doesn’t attend his duty as a king to go off to war. A simple fact, yet so relevant. So many things happen that will change the course of his life.
APPLICATION: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:12 Always be on your guard. Sin comes in very attractive shapes and forms. It beckons you to come and give in, promising instant pleasure, diluting the truth, and encouraging you to ignore the warning flashlights of disaster. Never take a day off from guarding your heart.
Watching birds fly.
“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” 2 Sam. 11:2
David is possibly going on top of the roof to enjoy the cooler evening breeze. The exact reason is not specified. There, he sees a beautiful woman.
Men might point fingers to the woman for trying to possibly entice the king who had the view to her house from the top of his palace. (Bad, bad neighbour.) Women might argue the point and say she needed to cool off just as much. Her rooftop didn’t go high enough to enjoy the breeze. Either way, we all have a choice to make: to give into sin or not to. It’s all on us.
There’s a Chinese saying I heard few years ago “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” You may not always be able to control everything you hear or see, but you can stop dwelling on those sinful thoughts. You can choose to stop flying- birds from making a nest on top of your head. In David’s case, noticing the beautiful woman is the ‘flying birds’, things you can’t control. But the story doesn’t end here.
APPLICATION: We live in a sinful world. It’s bound to happen that you’ll see inappropriate things (a disturbing add as you open up your email, a person dressed indecent as you go to work), you’ll hear vulgar talk and coarse jokes. We need to choose to quickly dismiss those and not dwell on them in our mind. PRAY for God’s protection over you, and your family/spouse in this area.
Letting birds make a nest on his head.
“…and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 2 Sam. 11:3
David was not in control of what he happened to see. But, ‘dragged by his own desire and enticed’, he takes action. David sends someone to find out more about the beautiful woman. He becomes fully aware of who she is. Yet, he chooses to make a nest on his head. He chooses to sin against his body, against this woman, and her husband. Most of all, he sins against God.
APPLICATION: “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15 Don’t let sinful desires take over your actions. Nip them in the bud. Only God can empower you to stand strong in front of a temptation. Pray and run away from what’s inviting you to sin.
Dealing with natural consequences.
“The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’” 2 Sam. 11:5
Sin never comes alone. Sin always drags with itself natural consequences, and often also consequences given by others.
APPLICATION: Count the cost of sin before you give into temptation. Look at what you have now, and picture what you may loose.
Trying to cover up the sin.
David sends for Bathsheba’s husband who was on the battlefield. “So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.” 2 Sam. 11:6
David makes futile, superficial conversation trying to act normal, when all is messed up. “When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.” 2 Sam.11:7
David’s sin pulls out a great warrior out of his job. He is acting strange. David sends Uriah home, he even sends him a gift. (Guilt will make you do strange things.) Uriah stands on principle. While his men are fighting in the field and God’s ark is in a tent, he doesn’t see fit for him to go enjoy his home and his wife. “But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.” 2 Sam. 11: 9
David’s guilt is not washed away by meeting with Uriah, the one he wronged. So, he has a plan that displeases the Lord. Instead of dealing with what is at this point, he makes matters worse. He doesn’t kill Uriah himself. That might ruin his image as a great king. But, abusing his power, he manipulates circumstances, trying to play God. “In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, ‘Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.‘ ” 2 Sam. 11:14
APPLICATION: Deal with the raw sin as it is. Don’t try to cover it and make it look good.
God brings David to his knees.
God loves David too much not to send accountability in his life. “The Lord sent Nathan to David…” 2 Sam. 12:1 He speaks through prophet Nathan. “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” 2 Sam. 12:9
David realises how deeply he sinned. “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.’ ”
David was brought to his knees. He pleaded with God for the consequence to be removed. “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.“
APPLICATION: Is God sending accountability into your life that you are trying to ignore? Or, do you need to bring accountability into your life because you have none?
God brings healing and forgiveness.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to confront him after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. In this chapter we see how broken-hearted David is over what he did. It’s a psalm of confession. It’s a remarkable example of a sorrowful heart, a genuine sadness over sin.
We do know God forgave everything David did not from Psalm 51, but from 2 Samuel 13b “…The Lord has taken away your sin.”
No matter how bad we mess up, there is always hope. God forgave David. God healed David. And David moved on, looking forward not to what was, but what will be. “Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.” 2 Sam. 12:20
APPLICATION: When we mess up, we need to confess our sin. Make things right with God and the ones we wronged. We need to accept forgiveness and move on. As Philippians 3:13-14 says: “…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Things I need to work on:
- Never take a day off from guarding my heart.
- I will choose to not let ‘flying-birds’ make a nest on my head. I will dismiss and not dwell on sinful thoughts.
- I will deal with the raw sin and not try to cover it up.
- I will bring accountability into my life.
- I will ask for forgiveness. I will accept it and move on.