Session 16

Did you hear what she did last night?!

From 2 Samuel: A 5-Week Devotional

Who doesn’t like flattery and attention? What if the person doling compliments is not your spouse? What’s the harm with a little innocent flirtation? 

The enemy loves to attack us with lies, showcasing a luring package of attractive sin, intending to trap us in a cycle of guilt and regret. We become insensitive to our own sin, blinded with hypocrisy, as we point our finger at the girl who had an affair, yet fail to own the steamy conversation we had at the water cooler about Channing Tatum. 

How are we different from David, a man after God’s own heart, who slept with another man’s wife, impregnated her, and then had her husband killed?

In 2 Samuel 12, God sends the prophet Nathan to rebuke David of his sin. Nathan tells David about a rich man who took from a poor man to provide for a traveler in need. David’s enraged and believes the rich man must die. Nathan confronts David, saying, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). Nathan points out David ignored the word of the Lord and committed evil, and promises David there will forever be trouble within David’s household. David harshly judges the rich man, while being blind to his own sin cycle. Until he’s caught red-handed. Then when confronted, instead of trying to hide his sin, David immediately confesses to God, takes responsibility, and repents. 

Repentance paves the way to freedom. 

Ultimately, God forgave David. When David least deserved God’s grace he was redeemed and restored anyway. Repentance paved the way to freedom for David, and this holds true in our own lives. Instead of focusing on what sins other people are doing let’s examine our own lives and repent of our own sin. The path to freedom begins in our own walk and with repentance of our own sins.

Reflect:

• Do you talk more about what other people are doing than your own sins? Ask God to reveal sins you may be blind to.
• Restoration begins when we walk with God. Is there a sin you need to confess and repent of, in order to break the bondage of guilt and regret?