This Sunday my pastor is preaching from Psalm 51… written by King David when he was confronted by Nathan the prophet after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. This morning in our staff prayer time we looked at the background passage for this psalm. 2 Samuel 12 is the story behind Nathan’s rebuke. Nathan brings the words of an angry God to David:
“I anointed you king over Israel… I gave your master’s house to you…I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.”
David had seen God’s goodness in so many amazing ways. Yet he wanted the one thing he was forbidden to have…another man’s wife. When he took her, serious consequences followed.
Sound familiar? Remember Adam and Eve? Surrounded by all the bounties of a glorious garden, able to walk and talk with the Creator, they still wanted more. They wanted the one thing they were forbidden to take. When they ate of the fruit, serious consequences followed.
What about me? How many times am I aware of the miraculous gifts God has showered upon me? Life. Health. Loving family. A relationship with my Savior with infinite love and grace. God gives more than I could ever imagine and certainly more than I deserve. Yet how many times do I want more…a little more money…a bigger house…a nicer car……this person to like me…greater respect from others. Dissatisfaction sets in and I find myself dwelling on what I don’t have rather than the bounties I do have. Serious consequences follow.
Like David, I also deserve to hear the words,
“Why did you despise the word of the LORD?”
And like David I need to come to the point where I can say,
“I have sinned against the LORD.”
Finally, I long to hear, “The LORD has taken away your sin.”
With His help my desire is to spend more time remembering His goodness to someone upon whom He chooses to shower His blessings, and to allow that remembering to overcome my short-sighted desire to covet what I do not have. The result? A grateful heart. Closer dependence on God. More peace and joy in life.
That’s my prayer for each of us. It begins with a grateful heart.