Truth can produce a wound, and that wound has a purpose, because many men aren't likely to abandon sexual sin until they get a good look at its seriousness.
Every Monday we’ll post something to do with personal recovery. Hope it helps. NOTE: Please read Parts I and II in this section from prior postings if you haven’t already.
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“I’ve Got a Problem – A Big One. So Now What?”
(Part Three of a Three Part Series)
When King David crossed the line during his notorious adultery with Bathsheba, he may well have thought he’d gotten away with his secret sin. Months went by while he kept it hidden, and he may well have concluded that it was behind him, until God jerked him to attention through a rebuke from the prophet Nathan.
Nathan began by telling David a story about a man who’d done something similar to what he himself had done. David, not recognizing himself in the story yet hating the sin the man in the story committed, reacted strongly, commanding that the guy be put to death. (Side note – Ever notice how horrible your sin looks on someone else, but how minor it looks on you?)
And that’s when Nathan sledgehammered David with those lethal words, “Thou are the man.” And King David – a good man who’d done evil in secret that was now being published openly – crumpled under the weight of the truth.
Truth can produce a wound, and that wound has a purpose, because many men aren’t likely to abandon sexual sin until they get a good look at its seriousness. That can mean facing things you’ve avoided, like the damage it’s done to your wife, your children, yourself. But when you do face it, you experience one of three things that are, in my opinion, necessary fro true, active repentance: Anger, Fear and Sadness. I think David experienced all three. He was heartbroken over his behavior, angry with himself , and frightened of the possibe consequences. And that powerful combination of emotions drove him to humility, prayer, and necessary action.
In other words, his crisis of truth was not an end, but a vital beginning of true repentance and restoration. Please consider this – God didn’t send Nathan to rebuke David because his life was over, but because God wanted it to be better. IN his book “David: A Man of Passion and Destiny”, Charles Swindoll notes, “Why did such a major change take place in David’s like and attitude? First, because David hurt enough to admit his need.”
Shame, outrage and fear – they seem like negative emotions, but they also produce enough discomfort and energy to shake a man out of his complacency and into redemptive action. That, I hope and trust, will be as true of you as it was of David.
MORE:
Read I’ve Got a Problem – A Big One. So Now What? (Part 1 of a 3 Part Series)
Read I’ve Got a Problem – A Big One. So Now What? (Part 2 of a 3 Part Series)
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