DAVID & BATHSHEBA

If there was anyone in the Bible well acquainted with mistakes, it was David. He had many shortcomings, most famously his sin of murder & adultery. When David was supposed to bear his responsibility as King and lead his people into battle, he instead stayed home, slept with another man's wife, and then had her husband killed.

What do you do when you mess up?

We can learn from David about what it means to repent and turn to God when we sin.

David wrote Psalm 51 right after he was confronted for his sin. In this psalm, he penned these words...

"1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight... 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

One of the most amazing statements ever made about David was that he was "A man after God's own heart."

How could God call him a man after His own heart with all of his shortcomings? Because David responded in humble repentance for his sin and turned back to God. We can do the same.