(2 Sam 12:24,25 NLT) Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the LORD”), as the LORD had commanded.
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” Last week we took a look at the 51st psalm where David clearly lamented his loss and the sin that led to it. Getting back to 2 Samuel we see that David determined to keep going after the death of his child. He fasted, he prayed, he cried before the Lord, and he begged for mercy, but once the child was dead, the King got up, washed himself, put on lotion, changed his clothes and he went to the tabernacle to worship. This is evidence that David understood grace. He knew he was not worthy, he understood how bad he had messed up, and he knew how terrible his transgression was, but instead of wallowing in guilt, shame and condemnation, David got up and worshipped the Lord his God. David did not blame God for the child’s death. The King was certain the child’s blood was on his hands. David knew he was the cause of everything that had happened, but somehow he mustered up the courage to worship and praise God, in an attempt to move on.
David’s advisers were amazed. They said to David, “We don’t understand you. While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.” David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.” David understood the finality of the situation. The child was dead and he could not change that, but he was alive and it made no sense to him to allow the death of his child to keep him from living. If he went on living with the guilt of the death, the condemnation would strip him of life. David decided to accept God’s forgiveness and to continue the pursuit of his purpose. If God were through with him he would be dead. Since he was still alive, God still wanted to use him, and he was determined to be used.
David went to Bathsheba, he comforted her, made love to her, and she became pregnant with another son. David and Bathsheba named the boy Solomon. Later the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell the parents to call him “Jedidiah,” which means “friend of God,” or “beloved of the Lord.” We will stop here for today.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God is not through with you yet. If you are still breathing, if air is still flowing through your lungs and blood is still flowing through your veins, then God is not through with you. If God were through you would be dead, but the fact that you are still alive is evidence that God still wants to work through your life, even though you messed up more times than you can remember. He wants to use you because of His grace, not because you are perfect.
2. Don’t wreck your future dwelling on the past. You can be alive, but keep yourself from living by dwelling on the past. David could not change what he did, nor could he change the fact that his baby was dead, so he chose to keep living, to continue to pursue his purpose, to continue to be used of God by grace, seeking to maximize his potential even though he was not perfect. If David had dwelled on his mistake, the baby would still be dead, but so would he. If David could not find the strength to move on, he would be a dead-man-walking and of no use to God. The same can be said of you. You did whatever you did and you can’t change it, but you can enjoy your future. You must find the strength to move on. If not you will wreck your future because of your past.
3. There is life on the other side of your pain. What happens to the person who lost a loved-one prematurely and is still crying inside? What happens to the person with a failed marriage who is still dealing with the sting and stigma of divorce? What happens to the person who walks out of prison after paying society’s penance for their wrong? What happens to you after you deal with the humiliation and shame of what you did? You can’t change the past. You can’t go back and get a ‘do-over.’ You can’t rewind the clock. But you can recover! Like David, you can receive forgiveness and believe again. You can move on and get your hopes up. You can call upon the name of the Lord and allow Him to use you for His glory. But wait! Your past will tell you that you are tainted, that you are damaged goods, and that you are not worthy, to which the Lord will say, “Good! Now when I use you to do what I want to do through your life, I will get all the glory, because no one will give you the credit. Everyone will say, ‘that was nothing but God!’ ” So, my brother/sister in Christ, the message to you is: KEEP GOING! There is life on the other side of your pain. David recovered and so can you. Will you? Will you keep going or will you allow your past to derail your future?
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Grace, mercy, goodness and kindness towards me. I have messed up more times that I can remember and surely more times that I want to acknowledge. You know I am not perfect. You know I am flawed. You know of my many failures. You know me inside and out and You acquainted with all my ways. You know that I am not proud of some of the things I have done, but I cannot change them. If You would allow me to turn back time, I would. But since I can’t, I am determined to look forward and not backward. I am still alive. There is still air flowing through my lungs. Blood is still flowing through my veins. This is evidence that You are not through with me. My past is behind me and my future is before me. At this moment, by faith I declare that shall live the remainder of my days with a ‘forward-ever, backward-never’ mentality. There is life on the other side of my pain. There is a blessing waiting for me on the other side of the storm. I have made many mistakes and I have had to deal with the results of them, but the past is the past. I refuse to derail my future by wallowing in the guilt, shame and condemnation of my past. You love me, You have forgiven me, You want to bless me and You want to use me for Your glory. Here I am Father! I submit myself to be used of You. Not because I am so good, but because You are. Not because I am perfect, but because Jesus was. I am righteous, because Jesus made me righteous, and I am determined to arrive at Your desired destination for my life. I shall maximize my purpose and potential while I am in the land of the living and I shall do it by Your amazing Grace! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
