“Wanting What God Wants”

BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 8-11

                In 2 Samuel 11 we see the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. This is the story of David’s most well-known sin in committing adultery with Bathsheba and essentially murdering her husband Uriah. Most of us know this story but knowing this story and figuring out how we can learn from David’s sin are two totally different concepts. There is a lot we could focus on in this passage to learn from David, but we are going to focus on verses 1-3. James 1:14-15 lays out for us the process of how sin enters our lives in which we are drawn away by our own lust(step 1), lust gives birth to sin(step 2), and sin brings forth death(step 3). Although 2 Samuel 11:1-5 gives us a clear example of this process we are only going to focus on the first step.

Before we go through step 1 of this process it is important to know that according to verse 1 David was supposed to be in battle but for whatever reason he “remained at Jerusalem.” Sometimes we choose to stay at home or in our own comfort zone instead of getting out and doing what God wants us to do. This reminds us of the old phrase “idles hands are the devil’s workshop”. That same idea is presented in Proverbs 16:27. Now on to step 1.

Step 1: We are drawn away by our own lust. In verse 2 David was innocently walking on the roof and happened to see a beautiful woman bathing. Up until this point David had not sinned. As humans, we have thoughts about or see our own lust and desire but unless we allow that lust or desire to draw us away from God, then we have not sinned. If David would have walked away right at that moment he would have been just fine, but as we see in verse 3, he allows his lust and desire to draw himself away from God. In verse 3 “David sent and inquired about the woman”. He acted on his own selfish lusts and desires.

We often see the fact that we allow our own lust and desire to draw us away from God as painful and negative. Yes, we should feel bad because we are separated from God but that should motivate us to get closer to God and not separate us further.

But, how do we keep this from happening again? To answer that question let’s ask another question. What separated you from God in the first place? YOUR OWN SELFISH DESIRES! The answer is very simple; we must change our desires to God’s desires. We cannot want what we want, we must want what God wants. Some desires are easy to change, and some are not, but we must change them no matter how difficult.

Now read 2 Samuel 11:4-5 and point out steps 2 and 3. It is important to understand where your own selfish desires can lead you.