Shepherd To King-Day 15

12 Sep Shepherd To King-Day 15

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:13 -NLT- “Then David confessed to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ Nathan replied, ‘Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.’”

Psalm 51:1 -NLT– “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”

• 2 Samuel 12: Examining David and the confrontation from Nathan the prophet
• Psalm 51: David’s heartfelt prayer to God

Observation: God needed to get David’s attention, so he sent Nathan, the prophet, to confront him about his sin with Bathsheba. David comes to grips with his sin and asks God for forgiveness.

Application: Have you ever been filled with remorse and regret? Did it feel like such a dark place that all you could do was cry out to God for mercy, as David does here? 

King David had been chosen by God to be the king of his people, the Israelites. In the previous devotional message, we see that he sinned against God by sleeping with the wife of Uriah, one of his most loyal leaders. She got pregnant and David had Uriah killed.  Like David, my relationship with God was disrupted and fractured because I was living in sin. Sin turned us both away from following God. God sent Nathan to address the matter and convince David to repent and ask for forgiveness. 

In the same way, God may send someone into our lives to help us realize that our sin was separating us from following God and experiencing his best for us. Years ago, God sent Deacon Arrington to me. He was a loyal leader at the Second Baptist Church, which, at the time, I had been attending regularly, but then slowly stopped. My relationship with God was disrupted because I knew that I was being disobedient to him by living in sin with my girlfriend. I thank the Lord for Deacon Arrington’s godly influence on me. He had been praying for me, and our pastor sent him to rescue me from my situation. They knew that I had a special calling on my life, and I needed to live right before God. I ended the relationship, repented, and rejoined the church.

God can use anything to get our attention to draw us back to him because he loves us that much. He could even use something as drastic as a break-up in a relationship. However, he is always with us. We can always trust that he will bring us through it, since he brought us to it. I invite you to search your own heart to find where you can use a fresh start in your relationship with God. If you don’t know where to start or don’t have a personal relationship with God, I would encourage you to read Psalm 51 and ask God to make you new again. God is faithful to forgive and cleanse you from all your sin.

Prayer: Father, I pray that I will seek your direction for my life. I turn away from all my wrong choices. Help me set a right course and turn away from everything that displeases you and others. I embrace your love and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Next Steps:

• Join us again tomorrow for Day 16
• Do you have someone that can speak the truth into your life, like an accountability partner? 
  • If not, be intentional and seek out someone (or a couple people) who could fill that void. Joining a J-Group is a great way to meet people who you can share your life with and be encouraged to grow in God’s loving truth.
  • If you do, think about how you handle receiving loving confrontation. Are there ways you could improve your reaction? Pray for God to open your heart to wise guidance.

 Alfred Ceaser/Prayer Team Leader/Journey Central Team Leader

Alfred has been with The Journey since Christmas of 2008. He has been a part of the Impressions, Journey Kids, Prayer, and Pastoral Care J-Team areas. He also leads two men’s J-Groups. He has a son, Josh, who is nineteen and serves on the Production J-Team. In Alfred’s spare time, he enjoys reading, writing, and watching superhero movies, his favorite sports teams, and pro-wrestling.