David

2 Samuel 7:12-15, 2 Samuel 11-12, Acts 13:22

David has seen everything. He was on the run from King Saul fighting for his life and wasn’t able to come out of hiding until Saul died. Then David took the throne and the Israelites had a string of military victories. David was on top of the world but he didn't keep watch over his own heart and found himself in an ugly situation.

This story of David and Bathsheba represents the depth of God’s grace and love for his people! It would seem that there would be no grace for David from the people and from God. Why should there be grace? David willingly took another man's wife and then had her husband along with several other soldiers killed on the battlefield to cover it up. At face value, there might not be anything worse that a person could do. None of this aligns with God’s design for us and David knew that because of the law given to the Israelites.

The severity of David's act gives us hope because all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We may not have the same story as David but we are all broken people who have sin all over our lives.

Not only is grace extended to David we see in the book of Acts that he is called a man after God's own heart. In this story, it would not seem like David is a man with God’s heart but his story is not finished. He is able to confess his sin, turn, and continue to lead the people of Israel. Ultimately David’s lineage is used to bring the Messiah into the world. From a line of broken people comes a savior who is able to live the perfect life that no one else can.

God did not ignore David’s sin. There were real consequences for his actions but David’s response was repentance. Eventually, he saw the terrible act that he committed and he fell to his knees asking God to forgive him. That is what God is asking of all of us. That we would repent of our sin and believe in the truth of the gospel.

God uses people who are broken. David was a broken person who God used to write 73 of the Psalms many of which were written after the story of David and Bathsheba. To this day we get to be inspired by this man who despite his sin God used to impact generations.

This can be true for you as well. No matter what you have gone through in life God wants to use you to impact the people around you. Your sin does not disqualify you. It can give you a greater perspective on the grace and forgiveness of God that you can share with those around you.

The enemy uses shame to sideline many people who are crushed by their sins. My prayer is that we would learn from the story of David. God calls us to repentance and his grace is there to cover all our sins. Now we are called to share our story and the story of Jesus with those around us.