broken yet hopeful

This morning I read about David, Bathsheba, Uriah and Nathan in 2 Samuel 11-12.  There is so much to learn from this story and so many different ways it can be applied to our lives.  I have read this part of Scripture many times, have done at least 2 bible studies on it, and read books about the life of David.  So today I ask God to give me a fresh perspective on a familiar passage.  I ask Him to show me what He wants me to see today.

Brokenness.  David was a powerful king who got what he wanted in life.  The Lord had given him great victory and fame.  He is the kind of man I would expect to respond to rebuke with anger and defensiveness.  But when he is confronted by Nathan, David simply confesses that he has sinned.  He receives the Lord's discipline, fasts, prays, and worships.  And we get a glimpse of his heart in psalm 51.  And there we see that he while David is broken, he is yet hopeful.  Because he knows the heart of the Lord.

Broken before God, we receive forgiveness we do not deserve.  Humble in God's presence, we are cleansed by His Spirit.  Trusting God and not ourselves, we are taught wisdom in the depths of our hearts.  Contrite over our own sin, we exchange sorrow and sickness for the joy of salvation.  Broken yet hopeful.  Because we serve a God of great compassion and unfailing love.