David's Year Away

I heard one of the coolest messages the other day, presenting an aspect of an old bible story I’d never heard. The speaker began the lesson talking about how David was one of the MVPs of the old testament but that he had his issues just like the rest of us; he was an adulterer and a murderer but he was the man after God’s own heart because he was also a humble man who knew who held the keys to his eternity.

Well of course, if you’ve been in church for more than a few years, you’ve heard this story before, but the part of it I don’t remember or never paid attention to, was the fact that David didn’t repent immediately. I guess before I thought that he had just messed up and realized it and then corrected it, but that’s not what happened at all, in fact he doesn’t confess his sin until after the baby is born. It takes 9 months for a baby to be born, so when you do the math you realize that it is almost a year in this sinful state! He lived in this state of distance from God for an entire year which blows me away! How a man so committed to God can get to a point of distance for that long is almost unreal. It was not until his friend Nathan brought it to his attention that he got right with God. I’m sure he knew that he had sinned but he was so caught up in these sins that he couldn’t hear God’s prodding.

Nathan, being the good friend he was, showed David the error of his ways and David then made things right again. Nathan was a true friend because calling someone out on something is one of the hardest things to do; you never know how they’ll react and it could mean losing that friendship. Nathan took that chance anyways because he knew it was what was best for David. But the coolest thing about this realization was that David came back from this distant state and was still referred to as a man after God’s own heart! It’s encouraging to know that no matter what I get myself into, or for how long I stay in that state of turmoil, God will always accept me back and love me just as before and in an even more intimate way because I realize more fully the depth of His love. It reminds me of a Barlow Girl song called Harder Than The First Time. Here are some of the lyrics that show how amazing it is to grow in our relationship with the Lord…

“Was I so blind; how did I not see you? Yet in all this time you never left my side, So for all my life, I will live to know you, So here I am; I’ll take your hand I didn’t see you, but God I want toYou’ve come alive, and I think I’ve fallen harder than the first time”