~ 2 Samuel 11:1-5
We all get into messes. We make bad choices and find ourselves squarely in the sights of Satan, the evil one, and he is quick to turn our messes into a blazing dumpster fire. We sin. Then it seems that all is lost, and there is no hope of returning to a healthy walk with Jesus. I want to encourage you today to think about your relationship with Jesus.
What are your messes? What are your disasters? Can you even recover from the pit you’ve dug for yourself? I believe the answer is yes.
I want to share a story with you that may help you understand the grace and discipline of the Lord and how you can experience each and come out on the other side.
Sin begins with coveting
People liked and respected King David. He was a man after God’s heart and seemed to rule well. However, one afternoon when his army had gone into battle, he took a stroll on his roof. It was a flat roof and overlooked a bathing area for people. While taking that inquisitive walk, David noticed a beautiful and stunning woman. She struck a curious King with her extravagant beauty.
Her beauty captured him, he showed interest, and asked questions about her. One of his servants told him that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. “So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her” ( 2 Samuel 11:4). David had the means to take what was not his. This behavior is nothing more than coveting someone else’s wife. He wanted her, asked his servants to get her for him, and he had his way with her.
What do you covet? Do you covet the beauty of the opposite sex as David did? For David, it seemed to be a sensual desire out of control and something he could not manage. In today’s world, you may struggle with pornography. You covet the beauty of another person and want to see them through sinful pictures and videos doing things that should never be seen by those who love Jesus.
To covet means that you strongly desire to take something that is not yours.
Sin always has consequences
David experienced an immediate consequence of guilt for sure. If you’ve experienced sexual sin, I’m sure you’ve experienced that kind of guilt as well. The next consequence David faced was that Bathsheba became pregnant (2 Samuel 11:5). She sent word to David and told him that she was pregnant. This surprise was a definite “uh oh” moment for David.
While he thought he was going to get away with this sexual sin, the news he heard was enough to erase any hope that word would not get out. The sinful activity in private was about to become a public disgrace. David had to do something. David needed to make things right. Do you think he had a press conference and told everyone that he sinned and Bathsheba’s baby was his? Nope. Not a chance. He was the King. He had to come up with a plan.
Now, we’ll talk about the plan and cleverly devised scheme in tomorrow’s devotional. But today, I want us to think about the immediate reason for most sin and the consequences that sin doesn’t promise but always provides. In this case, we’ll see that David lost his influence and ended up doing unspeakable things to cover his sin.
A prayer
Lord, I know that I’m not perfect, and I need your help. Please help me to be content with what you’ve given me and how I need to stay focused on you. Help me to always keep my eyes on you and not on things that could draw me away from you and entice me to sin. I know that temptation occurs when I’m drawn away by my desires. Replace my sinful desires with a sense of awe, respect, and love for You.