King David was one of God’s most faithful servants. He had a true heart for the LORD and he often expressed his joy in song or by writing psalms that spoke of his joyous relationship with God. But even David had his seasons of separation from the LORD where he seemed cut off and disconnected from his Heavenly Father.
After he committed his sin with Bathsheba, David went for months in a spiritual hibernation. For about nine months, David suffered under the guilt of his sin, unable to bring himself to repentance. His heart was dark and he probably lamented his sin in private, although we are not told this specifically in the Bible. Neither are we told of any acts of repentance until after his child with Bathsheba was born (2 Samuel 12:1-1).
Sin has a way of obliterating the joy in our lives. While we are under its shadow, we are disconnected from God spiritually and often feel depressed at the lack of communion we once shared with Him. Our hearts experience a spiritual winter where we are barren of fruit and cling to life only by our roots. As a tree in winter is barren, we have lost our ability to bring forth the fruit we bear outside our seasons of discontent. We often long for the joy we once knew when we walked with the LORD.
David certainly was in such a state of winter. During this time, he failed to write psalms and his harp offered little consolation. Music failed to sooth his soul and it probably seemed nothing he did had meaning. As his discontent continued, David probably questioned whether there would ever be joy in his heart again. We get a glimpse of his despair in Psalm 51 when, after Nathan had come to him to receive David’s confession of sin, he wrote, “Restore me to the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalms 51:12).
How is it we can find our joy and emerge from our state of hibernation? We can learn much from David’s experience. First, he was able to do nothing to release himself from his funk. It was God who prepared David’s heart for the act of repentance. Though He suffers as well, God allows His loved ones to fall into sin. However, He does not want us to lie in its grasp forever. If left to himself, David would have wandered endlessly without direction and never come to repentance. It was only by God’s grace that he was restored.
Second, God sent a messenger to David. David did not summon Nathan, God summoned Nathan, David’s faithful friend, to go on His behalf and to facilitate the confession and repentance David needed so badly. God had used Nathan previously to bring David new of his good fortune (2 Samuel 7:4); now Nathan brought David the message of God’s wrath.
Each of us goes through seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow based on our actions and our relationship with God. If you are in a season of sorrow due to sin, know that it is normal for God to care about you and to want you to come to repentance. Know that, as with David, He wishes us each to confess our sin and to join in a closer walk with Him. Restoring the joy in our lives is one of God’s great gifts. Recognize how you cannot do it on your own, it is only through Him that your joy can be restored.
We serve a God of restoration and remember that He wants to restore you if you are willing to confess and repent. Know that He may send others to help you and be ready to accept the help they can offer. Through Nathan, God restored David to a normal life. God is waiting to restore your joy as well if you will only turn to Him. How will you respond today?
In His love and service,
Jeff Myers
A servant of Jesus Christ
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸><((((º>
`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´`·.¸¸.·´¯
© Copyright 2016, I’m Normal.™ I AM Ministries, All rights reserved