Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
The word “Recovery” is used in many different ways, all of them significant and awakening HOPE, am I right? A ‘recovery’ attempt is frantically made to rescue trapped miners underground. Addicts work through a process perhaps like “Celebrate Recovery” not only to break the hold of addiction in their lives but to learn how to live clean, sober lives free from addiction. Marriage counselors work tirelessly to help separated or broken marriages find ‘recovery’ so the couple can be reunited in a healthy, God honoring marriage. So, I wonder what version of ‘recovery’ has been your experience, my friends?
Come, let’s return to King David’s palace, where I left you yesterday as we watched David cry out to God for forgiveness from the weight of his terrible sins. For seven days King David fasted, wept and prayed, begging God for the life of his little child conceived and born in illegitimacy. The record says: “On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought: ‘While the child was still living, we spoke to David, but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him now that the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” (2 Samuel 12:18) May I ask us all, has anyone ever been afraid to tell us the truth because they feared we might do something desperate? If so, what are the implications of that fear? Do you remember Jesus said, “Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life…. If you hold to My teaching… you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:12, 31,32) There is David’s problem, isn’t it?
David had been walking in the darkness for more than a year as he lived his lie and kept covering it up with more and more God rejecting decisions and actions. David had turned away from God and was NOT walking close to God as he had in the past. David had rejected God’s truth and was not living according to God’s commands. Oh, King David knew full well God had declared in His “10 Commandments”: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife…” (Exodus 20:13,14,17) But David did it blatantly, in full rebellion against God and now was feeling the full weight of God’s judgment, as Nathan had confronted him, and the illegitimate child had died. Honestly now my friends, what price have you and I paid for rejecting God’s truth, for walking away from God’s offer of relationship?
But in his grief King David noticed something. Those in his palace were whispering and David grew suspicious, so the record says: “David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. ‘Is the child dead”? he asked. ‘Yes’, they replied, ‘the child is dead.” (2 Samuel 12:19) Now we’ve all been around death and the families and friends who are grieving the death of someone they loved, so how would you expect David would respond to this news about his son’s death? Deeper grief? Depression? A drunken stupor?
Look at King David, he’s getting up from the floor, wiping the dust off his clothes and going to clean himself up? The record says: “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 he worshipped. Then he went into his own house and at his request they served him food and he ate.” (2 Samuel 12:20,21) Do you see ‘recovery’ happening here my friends? Recovery from the deep agony of sin shame and guilt conviction and fully grasping the tragedy of how King David had defiled his relationship with God; defiled his role as King over Israel, God’s people; defiled the woman Bathsheba, wife of Uriah and daughter of Eliam; defiled his role as Commander in Chief by sending word to Joab his field commander, to have Uriah left alone to die in battle?
Did you notice my friends the specific steps to David’s recovery from his despair and his defilement of so much that was good? God, David and Nathan followed a specific path to recovery that can teach us some important lessons. Here’s what I see, do you see the same?
First, God reached a point where His patience with David ran out and God intensified His conviction of David’s heart with a visit from Nathan the prophet who confronted David boldly with his secret sin.
Oh we can be sure the Holy Spirit of God had been convicting David’s heart every day for a full year, but David’s pride; David’s fear of his secret being discovered; David’s efforts to keep weaving the sinful tale ever more strategically; David’s hard heart, refusing to allow his heart to be broken by the sound of the worship at the Ark Tent, or even the sight of the Ark of the Covenant… all worked together to build a strong callose over David’s heart, so that he refused any efforts of the Holy Spirit of God to help David by drawing him back to God through repentance.
Second, I notice that when Nathan did confront David, he didn’t argue, he didn’t make any excuses, he didn’t blame anyone else, but David crumbled and confessed before God and repented of his sin, begging God for pardon knowing full well he deserved to die for this sin of adultery and murder. (Deut. 22:22)
Third, I notice David spent 7 full days and nights in prayer and fasting before God.
Oh yes, David was begging for the life of the child, but David was also in that deep period of full confession and repentance seeking God’s cleansing of his heart. It was in David’s reflection of these 7 days that he wrote Psalm 51 and I urge you to read it or listen to the Dramatic Audio Bible version of it today at the conclusion of this edition of “Walking with Jesus”.
Fourth, David cleaned himself up and went to worship the LORD God in all His majesty, holiness and mercy. Worship is a vital part of ‘recovery’ my friends, for after confession, after repentance, after God extends pardon and begins cleaning the filth out of our lives, worship is a vital next step for worship realigns our hearts with the heart of God; worship reorients my mind to think like God; worship rejects the evil and wickedness which I had allowed into my life; worship rejects the devil and praises Almighty God.
Fifth, finally David was ready to re-engage life again by eating and returning to his life with his wife and family, and his God assigned role as King over Israel.
Now we need to pause right here and ponder this process to ‘recovery‘ that King David walked out of the pit of his most horrific sin. Please notice, God’s pardon and David’s recovery journey back to God did NOT prevent David from having to deal with the terrible consequences and memories of his sin.
His faithful soldier Uriah was still dead and buried out on the battlefield, leaving Bathsheba a widow. David was still married to Bathsheba but they both knew their married life together was under false pretenses. The child born out of their adultery was dead. King David’s reputation with Joab, his commander, was damaged forever. David’s reputation and relationship with his spiritual advisor the prophet Nathan was damaged forever. And God had pronounced judgment on David through Nathan, (2 Samuel 12:10-12) and those horrific predictions did come true later in David’s life.
But David was alive and had been pardoned by God and tomorrow, we’ll look more closely at what happened next, which is an evidence of the power and wonder of God’s forgiveness of our sin! Here’s a song to reflect on these very important truths we’ve discussed today, and I’ll meet you right back here tomorrow, my friends.
Today’s Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:15-20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Psalm 51
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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