Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man…Nathan said to David, You are the man! ~2 Samuel 12:5, 7 (RSV)
In 2 Samuel 12, the Lord sent Nathan to tell King David a story of a man who had wronged another man in a terrible way. As Nathan tells the story, David’s anger burned against this man stating “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” (NIV) At that point Nathan reveals that David is actually the man he is accusing. In this story God calls Nathan to confront David. Could you imagine how it must have felt to go to the King of Israel and tell him what he had done wrong? Yet that was what God required for Nathan to do and it was for a purpose. Godly, loving confrontation is necessary at times to deal with progressive or even ongoing issues. When those the Lord puts in our path need direction from the Word of God it is important that we are able to hear from Him so that we can demonstrate His love and care as we help them understand His will and ways. Many of us are not confrontational and would prefer to avoid the risk of either us being hurt or us hurting someone else. But that is operating out of fear if God is calling us to address a situation. Many times, we worry about how others will take what God has put on our hearts to share with them but when we speak the truth in love, we can be assured God will show up strong in our weaknesses.
Speaking the truth in love sounds like an open door to say what we want to say, but that is not the case. We are not at liberty to speak our own words when we meet others where they are on the road of life. The Lord knows when we speak words of judgement or condemnation, we are pushing people away, not pulling them into mercy and grace. Our words must first be true, which means they need to be the Lords words, and second, they must be kind and winsome. We have to be very careful to listen for the voice of the Lord when it comes to confronting others. “I care about you” is a great way to start. Pray before you reach out to someone and trust the Lord to make up the difference in what you are not able to convey. We all need guidance every once in a while. How many paths have you went way too far down before you decided you were headed the wrong direction? The backtracking is never fun and the longer the road home, the more time we have to think about all the opportunities we were given to make the necessary changes along the way. Just as God gave David a receptive heart to listen to Nathan’s words, pray God will give those to whom you must confront a receptive heart to hear His words through you and remember that mercy always triumphs over judgement. It's better to reach out in love than to not reach out at all.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” ~2 Samuel 12:13 (NIV)
Who will you reach out to in love today?
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