II Samuel 12:19-23 (NKJV) 19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. …

II Samuel 12:19-23 (NKJV) Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said,

II Samuel 12:19-23 (NKJV) ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

II Samuel 12:19-23

We’ve all been there before, perhaps not to the same degree as others We’ve all been in a situation where we have found ourselves wrapped up in some sin It’s never an easy thing to overcome; some may not know how to

What are we to do following the devastating path of destruction that is sin? Looking at past examples is always a help to us (Rom. 15:4) So today, we learn from David following his shameful sin with Bathsheba

It is important and imperative for us to understand the damage and destruction sin can cause That damage can be far reaching, beyond just hurting the one who sinned In David’s case, several were affected

Obviously David suffered, his reputation and influence suffered as well Bathsheba suffered losing both her husband and her child The child lost it’s life, so he suffered as well

What about the Lord? “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…” (II Sam. 12:14) This sin by David also hurt the Lord as well

The first thing that David did was to confess his sin and seek God’s forgiveness (II Sam. 12:13) Notice God forgave him immediately Psalm 51 The best thing we can do is ask for God’s forgiveness

Getting forgiveness keeps us walking in the light and in a right relationship with God It helps with the cleansing of our hearts, to put them back on God It takes the burden of sin and guilt off of our backs

When we realize we are forgiven, it should cause us to be thankful Thankfulness should cause us to want to fall down and worship our God One of the things David did following a time of prayer and fasting is to go and worship God (II Sam. 12:20)

Job did the same thing in Job 1:20 Who else can we turn to? What else can we do than humble ourselves before His mighty hand? It showed a spiritual maturity beyond what others may have had

Some, in moments like this, may go out and curse God (such as Job’s wife requested – Job 2:9) Others may do something ill-advised such as vandalize, drink, or cause someone else harm David did the wise thing, he worshipped

As we mentioned previously, there are usually others who are affected or hurt by our sin David wasn’t the only one who suffered through all of this David sought to comfort Bathsheba as well (vs )

It’s important that we do not lose sight of others when we sin and are hurting This is especially true when it is our sin that has caused the pain and grief of others We also have to note our limitations (v. 23)

Remember that God is the God of all comfort (II Cor. 1:3-4) However, God comforts us that we may be a comfort to others as well We are an instrument of God’s that He can use in order to comfort those around us who hurt

At some point we must return to some sense of normalcy For David, it was right after his son passed away He got up, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, worshipped, then ate

At some point we have to pick ourselves us and get back to doing God’s will Sitting around moping and not doing anything has us inactive for the Lord Paul sat for 3 days, then received his sight and was asked “now why are you waiting?” (Acts 9 & 22)