After an eye-popping description of his rescuing Savior, David adds: “They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me” (II Samuel 22:19, NLT).
“When I was in distress.” You’ve heard the expression about “kicking a man when he’s down.” This is precisely what the enemy specializes in. When you’re feeling your worst; struggling the most; this is when the enemy attacks. And as crazy as it may sound, that alone should show you what a weakling he really is. He needs to find your most vulnerable place in order to hurt you.
But our Great Rescuer will hear our cries for help and come to our aid, just as He did for David: “He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me” (II Samuel 22:20).
“He delights in me.” How does the Lord “delight in” us? First Samuel 15 holds a part of the answer: “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (I Samuel 15:22, NASB). God delights in our obedience to His Word.
And this goes right along with what Paul taught in Romans 12:1b – that the life of a Christian is to be as “a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable” (NLT). The person God delights in is the one who obeys Him by living his daily life totally sold out to Jesus.
David continues: “The Lord rewarded me for doing right; He restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I have followed all His regulations; I have never abandoned His decrees. I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence” (II Samuel 22:21-25).
“I have never abandoned His decrees.” “I am blameless before God.” Huh? Is this the same David that sinned with Bathsheba? Is this the same David that sent her husband Uriah and the other soldiers around him to their premeditated deaths? Yes, one and the same.
How could David write such words after all he’d done? Bible scholars suggest that he wrote this (as seen in Psalm 18) earlier in his life – pre-Bathsheba. But David is old now and he’s still singing this song. How does that make any sense?
When David was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba, David immediately made a heartfelt confession that I believe had already been gnawing at his soul: “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Samuel 12:13a).
God was just waiting for David to admit it. And when he did, God told Nathan to tell him, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you” (II Samuel 12:13b).
David understood the truth of Isaiah 1:18 where God calls out: “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.”
What David had confessed, God had forgiven. And what God had forgiven was no longer on David’s record. Other people might have reminded David of what he’d done, but God never did.
Folks, that little voice inside your head that keeps reminding you of what you’ve done wrong, if it’s talking to you about a confessed sin, it sure ain’t Jesus. That’s the enemy wanting to keep you feeling worthless.
If it’s under the blood, it’s over. Done. History. Walk in victory; refuse to live in defeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment