Our lesson in church today was on King David. More specifically 2 Samuel Chapters 11-12, and then we didn't get to Psalms 51 (his repentance), but I'll leave that there for you so you can look it up if you so desire.
We've probably all heard the David and Goliath story, and from there we've probably all heard the story of King David's inappropriate relationship with Bathsheba that then led to the murder of her husband.
The lesson that we were given today was about the latter story, however, our instructor reminded us of what King David had done/who he was before this incident. I don't know about you, but my mind kind of goes from Goliath (where David is really strong in the Lord) to Bathsheba (where David all of the sudden makes a bunch of really big mistakes and then ends up bringing condemnation down upon himself). How often do we consider where he was in the middle of all of this? And how can learning from his example be beneficial in our lives?
King David WAS a really good king! One of the best really. He was the first to unite the 12 tribes, built temples, helped Saul's family, won wars against the heathens in the area, established Jerusalem. He was truly doing the bidding of his Heavenly Father, and as such, was highly favored of the Lord. How do you get to the Bathsheba incident from this high of a place????
Here's where the visual aid of wrapping a single string around your wrists and trying to break it comes in. If you were to wrap a few strings around your wrists you would be able to break it easily. A few more wraps and it'd be difficult, but doable. Wrap many strings around your wrists, and now you're in trouble. So to it is with sin. Little by little we are susceptible to Satan's enticings and as we give in, he binds us to him. Scary stuff! I know where I want to be bound, and it's no where near that guy!
In David's case he really shouldn't have been on top of his house when he saw Bathsheba, his place was with his army, but he decided that they were winning.... so why should he go? So, he's shirking his duties and just home being idle. Then he sees Bathsheba, has a thought (which would have been easy to repent of at this point), but then he decides to "pull up a chair" and entertain that thought. Then he acts on it. Then she gets pregnant. Uriah, her husband, is a good guy so David is having troubles getting him to come home to be with his wife, so he sends him somewhere that he knows he'll get killed.... yah, he's not doing so hot with the decision making at this point. You get the picture. You can't cover a mole hill with more dirt. If you're trying to hide it all you end up doing is making it bigger and more visible!
I've mentioned before how much more blaring my faults are when I'm parenting solo. It's not as bad as it sounds really. I spend time thinking about what I need to do in order to be a good parent and really that ends up being a mental discussion about what needs to happen in our environment and in me to have a better relationship with Heavenly Father and to share that with my children. I know I need EVERY ounce of spiritual help and direction I can possibly get. So, sitting in church today brought to mind a blogpost that I read this last week on playing cards over at
being a mother who knows. We have face cards in the house, but I don't play with them and I've maybe seen them 3 or 4 times in the last 6 years and that wasn't even to do anything with them. I remember hearing that we shouldn't have face cards, we never did growing up, but we've had some since being married and I didn't think much of it. After reading her post it reminded me that having those cards in my house may not be a big deal to other people.... they're just a tiny deck of cards after all!.... but having them in my house period is keeping the spirit from fully descending on me and my home the way I not only want, but the way that I desperately need it too!
David started out great. I don't know that I have ever been at the place he was spiritually, and yet he fell. What a HUGE reminder of how diligent we need to be at getting rid of the little things in our lives that are keeping us from having the full power of the spirit as our companion. We need to do our duties, quickly replace thoughts that aren't in line with our morals and values, be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father, and never be idle. We have to stay in control, there is no other option, especially as mothers! Even when we're doing well we can't stop moving forward and doing better! Let's determine to examine our lives and do a little better everyday about removing the things in our lives that are keeping us bound. As we celebrate our freedom as a nation, let us also pledge to find personal freedom!
