March 18, 2019

THE WORD FOR TODAY
2 Samuel 12-14
 
2 Samuel 12-14
 
 
2 Samuel 12:7 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.  8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!
 
Failure is a bitter pill to swallow.  You feel its taste through every pore of your body.  Escaping its terrible taste is impossible.  It is especially bitter when our well thought out plans for covering over our sin had been found out.  How did HE know?  Who told HIM?
 
David could speak to us about the bitter pill of failure that he was about to swallow.  Nathan the prophet told David a story that mirrored David’s sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah the Hittite.  When he heard Nathan say, “You are the man…”  There was no way David could escape the reality of his sin against God.
 
What made this even worse is that Nathan recalled all of the blessings God had poured out on David’s life.  He even piles it on higher with these words, “If that had been too little, I also would have given you much more.”
 
God had given him the most powerful position in the land and yet he squandered that trust with infidelity and murder.
 
How do we squander the Lord’s blessings?  He has given us the gift of salvation but we keep silent in the presence of the lost.  He has given us the gift of song but we refuse to sing of His blessing during times of worship.  He has given us the gift of relationships but we devalue some of them with gossip and slander.  He has given us the gift of forgiveness but we harbor anger and resentment against our neighbor.  He has given us the gift of mercy which we refuse to exercise toward an offending neighbor.  He has given us great blessings which we refuse to share with those in need.
 
It’s easy to pick on David.  But what do we say when God says, “You are the man.”?  Our only justifiable response is, “Lord, I am that man, I have sinned against you.  I lay myself at your mercy.”
 
Father, I am guilty of sin.  Forgive my transgressions, cleanse my iniquities, I lay myself at Your mercy, wash me with YOUR love and mercy and grace…In Jesus Name…AMEN!!!
 
Blessings
Brother William
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