In 2 Samuel ch. 5 David has finally attained the throne over a united Israel. It only took him give or take 15-20 yrs. How would you like for God to tell you what your purpose in life is and then let you wait 20 yrs of persecution, running for your life, hiding in caves before He let you finally sit on the throne He promised? David achieves His purpose. There is finally peace in Israel. In ch. 9 we see the good side of David’s character when he shows kindness and love to the descendants of his deceased brother Jonathan, even though they were his competition for the throne. In ch. 10 David defeats the Ammonites, another great victory! But then chapter 11 comes and we all know David’s great mistake. At this point of his life it was probably the first lowest moment of his life – he sees Bathsheba.

Most of us are familiar with the story. David stays home instead of going to battle with the army. He takes a stroll looking over the city and he sees a woman of “unusual beauty” bathing in her home. He sends for this woman of great beauty and sleeps with her. Then the woman, Bathsheba, sends word to David that she is pregnant. The problem was that her husband, Uriah (one of David’s mighty men btw) was at battle. You know, fighting for his king, David. Even though his king, David, stayed home instead of leading him in battle. So David schemes and tries to cover up his grievous mistake. As with sin always, we have to cover up our sin with an even greater sin. In this case, after David was not able to trick Uriah into sleeping with his own wife – David gives the order to have Uriah in the front line of the battle and let him die. If you are not familiar with this “tele novela / soap opera” do yourself a favor and go read it (2 Samuel 11-12).

So right after David achieves great victories, one of his greatest mistakes occurs right after. This is a pattern that we often see in the Scriptures. We witness some of the highest moments in humanity, and in the same couple chapters we witness some our lowest moments as well. How can the highs and lows of life come within the same couple chapters? One day we’re with the Lord, in the Word, abiding in Him, praying fervently. And then the next day or week we fall, again. We then could not feel further than Him like Adam and Eve hiding in the garden because of their guilt and shame. Following Jesus while we are in this “body of sin” as Paul calls it, is full of highs and lows. So what do we do? When we fall and grow distant from Him, and don’t feel like we can come back to Him… let’s look at what David did.

1. He repented. In ch. 12 of 2 Samuel, God sends the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan boldly confronts the king of his sin. And David, did not make excuses, did not try to explain away why he did what he did. No. He fully admitted and took responsibility for what he did. And he repented. He turned from his sin towards his merciful God. God forgave David of his sin, but David still had to suffer the consequence of his sin.
2. He lamented. The child conceived from David and Bathsheba’s relationship was born but contracted a deadly illness. David wept and prayed for the child. Unfortunately in this occasion God did not save the baby. I cannot explain why God allows certain things to happen but I’m not God. When my finite and limited mind does not understand Him, I must surrender and trust in His sovereignty. He is God.
3. He continued. When David was informed that his child did not survive. He rose up from his weeping, perhaps with a heavy heart, but he continued. There was still a kingdom to run, a purpose to tend to.

Perhaps you’re in a low moment right now. I want you to know that there is nothing you can ever do to make God stop loving you. Your Heavenly Father is waiting for you. So turn from your sin, and turn towards Him. There’s nothing out there in the world that is better than Him anyways.

If you are going through a valley that is outside of your control. Endure it with patience and remember, God is with us.

If you are reading this and you are in one of the high moments of life. That’s awesome, good for you. Enjoy life with God. Savor the good and great moments, but do not let your guard down. The enemy is waiting to tempt us to fall. Our flesh is the previous captain of our ship that is still on board, and we must never let it loose and give way to it again! Keep the flesh tied up under bondage and subjection. Let King Jesus reign over and be the captain steering your life.

Enjoy and celebrate the highs.

Endure or sometimes, repent from the lows.