Stephen spoke this morning from 2 Samuel 12:7-9, when the prophet Nathan confronts King David about his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah the Hittite. When we are separated from God due to sin, we are not in a good place. Sin acts as an obstruction between us and God, but unfortunately, we are all too adept at hiding our sin. David thought no one knew about his sins, but just as in a game of football, when the referee blows the whistle and the game has to stop, so Nathan acted as God’s referee in this situation, confronting David and leading him to repentance.
We often need God to blow the whistle in our lives, to stop our hiding and prevaricating and to face the sin which causes separation and distress. So often, we carry on with our lives, going about our daily business as if nothing has happened, but sin and our indifference to sin mean our relationship with God is tainted. When the whistle is blown, we are brought face to face with the God who knows all we do and from whom we can keep no secrets. We need to stop living divided lives and to face up to our sin.
David confessed his sin, repented and as a result experienced God’s forgiveness. There were consequences for his sin (the death of the child conceived in adultery and subsequent difficulties in family relationships), but the relationship between David and God was restored.
God does not want any wedge, any sin, any problem to disrupt our relationship with Him. He blows the whistle on sin so that we can confess, repent and rebuild, regaining the joy of unbroken relationship with Him. It can be very hard and painful to be confronted, for confrontation is painful, and we often run from the truth. Nonetheless, if we heed the word of the Lord to us, we can rededicate our lives to God. God is waiting for that prayer of repentance (see Ps 51); He is waiting for us to come home to Him. He is the Father waiting for the prodigal son to return. We may well feel guilty and ashamed of our sin, as if our hands are dirty and we are unworthy to be forgiven (‘How Can It Be?’ by Lauren Daigle perfectly captures this feeling); we may feel we don’t know how to put things right, but God is our hope, the only solution to our sin. All He requires is our confession and repentance for restoration to come.