The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Thursday
May 29, 2008
So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this
story: "There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was
poor. The rich man owned many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned
nothing but a little lamb he had worked hard to buy. He raised that little lamb,
and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from
his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest
arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from his own
flocks for food, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and served it to his
guest."
David was furious. "As surely as the LORD lives,"
he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay
four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity."
2
Samuel 12:1-6
Oh, the wisdom our Father gave to the prophet Nathan in this situation. Talk about the right words at the right time ¾ wow! One thing we need to remember, David had the authority and the power to take Nathan's life for such a confrontation. Oh, by the way the part I didn't include were Nathan's words, "You're the man!"
Talk about repentance. David is a wonderful example of heartfelt repentance. He confessed and mourned his wrongs. We have the wonderful outpouring of his heart in Psalm 51 that came from this time of brokenness. It was from this point on that King David became the epitome of a man after God's own heart.
Although we may not fall as far or as hard as David did, there will be times that we will fall. It may be something as simple as not loving our neighbor as ourselves, but we will fall. However, when we get alone with the Lord and make our confession of failure, He is faithful to restore us and rebuild our spirit.
Proverbs 22:4, 17-19 gives a wonderful description of what later happened in the life of our beloved King David. "True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life…Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. For it is good to keep these sayings deep within yourself, always ready on your lips. I am teaching you today—yes, you—so you will trust in the Lord."
Following this heartfelt time of brokenness, confession, and repentance, David went through some horrible times with his children. One of his sons raped his daughter. Another son gave up on David righting that wrong and rebelled against him and his kingdom. David continued to live a life of falling down and getting back up. That is one of the hallmarks of the Christian life, we fall down, but we always get back up ¾ with His help. Sometimes His help comes through a friend who will love us enough to confront us in our sin. When we operate in His love, we will care enough to confront.
Father, I thank You for the friends You have placed in my life who love me enough to confront me when they feel like I am venturing off the path that You have mapped out for me. I also thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who also does an awesome job convicting me when I am in the wrong. Thank You for caring enough to confront us in our sin. Your loving grace is truly amazing.
