Nathan Saved David
When David should have been out at war, he stayed home and had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba. After his first few attempts to cover it up didn’t work, he had her husband killed in war giving him the covering to quickly marry her and hide his sin.
We know this story. If we were aware of any of our leaders participating in such wickedness, we would demand justice and seek to get them imprisoned. We wouldn’t allow them to lead in any official capacity. And, we would definitely not call him a man of God.
God had a different view of David. God thought of him as a man He could trust and labeled him as a man after His own heart.
The redemption of the story is Nathan. Nathan is the man of God who understands what actually is going on and calls David out for his sin.
Nathan lures out David’s heart with a story before jabbing home the knife of truth exposing David’s sin.
There are still many questions people have about David.
- Did he get off too lightly?
- How could he remain as king?
- How come Saul lost the kingdom over his sin and David didn’t?
Even the Best Leaders Need Help From Others
You may have other questions, and I am sure you have heard answers to some of these. The point I wanted to pull out is that godly people can commit some of the most horrendous sins.
The saving grace for David was someone who listened to God and was close enough to David to point out the sin.
Most leaders or churches and government feel alone. Their position leaves them with few people to trust with the struggles going on inside of them. They fear the potential of losing their jobs or others using these struggles against them.
There is also a large portion of Christians that have been talked out of believing that God still speaks. My wife and I were in a Christian meeting several years ago where we were making plans for the next year. We got stuck in the middle, and my wife suggested we pray.
The reaction she received was like she suggested pulling out the Ouija board or talking to a psychic. People started shuffling papers, fidgeting in their seats, and complaining we already prayed to start the meeting. One person spoke up for the group condescendingly asking if my wife thought God was just going to speak back to us.
All I am getting out with this article is where are the people who are protecting the pastors? If even good men can stumble, where are those people listening to God that can speak truth to the pastors in their times of need?
A Friend Heard From God for My Redemption
I remember when I was still struggling with an addiction to pornography, a friend of my wife called her about a dream she had about me having an affair with another woman. While I never physically got with another women, my actions were training my brain to prepare for the possibility.
My addiction didn’t come to the light at this time, but it was only a few months after this that things came to the light and healing started. The faithfulness of what this friend believed she had heard from God put in motion the process that God used to bring healing. This friend didn’t continue to press us to believe her; she just shared it and let God use it to continue His work.
Interested in knowing more about my process toward healing from addiction? Get my book, Breaking Free. This is a great resource for anyone struggling with addiction or wants to help others in the process.
We Need People Protecting the Pastors
I know some pastors won’t like what I am suggesting. Not because they are trying to hide something, but because they have been burned by people making false accusations against them and claiming they are from God. That really happens, but do we throw out the good because there has been some bad?
We need a church to rise up where every member can listen to God for themselves. The pastors don’t want to stand in the place of God; they want to help you to have a connection with Him. Jesus died to give each of us a direct line to God and direct access to the power of the Holy Spirit.
God loves telling secrets about us to others. The large majority of the time He is sharing what He likes about you. As you listen to God’s voice for others, this is where He will spend most of His time. He needs you to get His heart for them before sending you out with a word of correction. The goal of God correction is always to bring about repentance, never tearing down people.
What I worry about is that pastors and leaders are too separated from others that they have no support from people who hear from God. David needed Nathan. David was a man after God’s own heart, but the deceitfulness of sin is not meant to be fought alone. Where are the Nathan’s of your church or ministry? Who is loving our leaders enough to fight for their holiness? Are you brave enough to protect the pastors or other leaders around you?