Oh, David, how could you?

Nothing hurts than a friend who won't listen; a friend who turns his back on another Friend.

The David-Bathsheba story is really… intriguing. A little back story from 2 Samuel 11 is this – David, at a time of war in Israel, stays behind in his palace. His gaze happens to fall on Bathsheba who is taking a bath and filled with lust, he sleeps with her. She gets pregnant and in a bid to hide it, David arranges the death of Uriah, her husband, on the battlefield.

Now, asides the usual facts which you may know about this story, God also punished David for his actions and the child died.

However, I read this story again recently and something caught my attention. We all know David as the ‘man after God’s heart,’ and for good cause. David’s intimacy with God right from his youthful days is sooo admirable. I think of them sometimes and I get jealous, like ‘how did you do it David? How?’

But this same guy, who was literally friends with God turned his back on Him. This guy who was a man after God’s heart, refused to listen to his Friend. I cannot imagine that God must have allowed David waltz into that sin. No way. Through his heart, his conscience, He must have told him to stop. He did not listen. It was a choice. Sin always is.

Many times, I don’t think we stop to think that God has feelings too. I don’t think we realize that He feels grief when we turn our backs on Him. I don’t think it often occurs to us that we have the ability to hurt God. David not only hurt himself, ruined a family, commit adultery, murdered a man… He hurt God through each of these actions.

If only he had listened to his friend.

Like we turn to friends that we trust for good counsel, and expect them to listen to us so things do not turn out wrong; God is that friend that we can listen to. God is that friend that we SHOULD listen to.

And you know the thing about God? His arms are always wide open. When the children of Israel sinned by demanding a king, here was the verdict:

“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.”
1 Samuel 12:20.

The verdict remains the same. Up till this point you have sinned, but come back home still. Like, come back. Just come back. There is mercy for you here. There is healing for you here. Everything you need is here.

David may have lost his footing when he turned his back on the voice of God, but he found it when he repented and found his way back to his Friend. The same is possible for you.

David found His feet and so can you.

[tweet] If God is indeed a solid rock, then surely, anyone who is not in Him must be on sinking sand. [/tweet]

Shalom ❤🕊✨