2 Samuel 12:5-8
Verse 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
With David furious, he was ready to put to death the man who had done this horrible thing and he must pay back four times what he had taken from the poor man. Then Nathan pulls the rug out from beneath David and points out that he is that man. That must have been like a sucker punch in the gut as the king started seeing the similarities in the story he was just told and the story of his sin months before.
Wow! He hadn’t seen that coming. It was so obvious now that he looked at it in this new light. He was the rich man. How could he have fallen so short of what God had called him to be? But he couldn’t stop listening now, the Lord was still talking through the prophet. God was reminding him of all the ways that God had made him flourish in life. God was reminding him that he was a rich man of power because God had placed him there. And this is how he had repaid the Lord.
God had anointed him as king, had protected him from Saul, given him the position of his master and had even given him many wives in his arms. God had given him both Judah and Israel to rule over. And if David hadn’t thought that was enough God said He would have given him more. God loved David and was wanting to bless him in every way. But David had more or less spit in God’s eye.
Hadn’t God blessed him as He said He did? Of course! David had become more than King Saul ever was. David had become a known warrior for God long before Saul was even removed from the throne. God had given David at least 600 men to fight with him as he ran from Saul. When he had been placed on the throne God had given him many victories allowing him to conquer much of the land that God had commanded His people to take from the evil people in the land. But David had been discontent.
The oldest tool of the enemy is to doubt God’s goodness, causing us to think that we deserve more than He has given. We all struggle with it, wanting and desiring that next best thing that we think will bring us happiness, all the while we are forgetting all that God has done for us in the past and the richness He has already placed in our lives.
Making It Personal
What area of your life do you find yourself wanting more than God has already given you? Do you try to get it no matter the cost? Has that area become an idol area of your life?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you have things in your life where you wish you had more? Why do you think Jesus hasn’t gotten those for you? Do you love that thing more than Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for the reminder that You are enough. You have provided so much for us and we need to remember the ways You have blessed in past so we know You will be our faithful provider in the future and we don’t have to try to gain things on our own. In Jesus’ name, amen.