Join Me On the Journey

Most of us know the story of David and Bathsheba.

David spied Bathsheba taking a bath and just had to have her. They slept together and Bathsheba got pregnant. There was just one problem; Bathsheba was already married. In order to try and cover up their sin, David called her husband home from battle and tried to get him to sleep with her, but Uriah, her husband wouldn’t cooperate.

But wait, there’s more…

David then plots to kill Uriah and is successful.

David and Bathsheba are then married. Bathsheba becomes one of his wives. Their son is born and the Bible says that the Lord made Bathsheba’s baby ill. The baby dies.

This is a heart-breaking story and there are many lessons that could be taught from this passage, but I would like to focus on the very beginning. How did all this start? How did David—a man after God’s own heart—fall so far?

I think the key can be found in II Samuel 11:1.

The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. (NLT)

I find these phrases so interesting. While I don’t profess to understand how Israelite society functioned at this time in history, this passage gives us a few clues. It says, “The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war…” David should have been out leading his troops, but instead, he had grown fat and sassy and he stayed behind at the palace languishing.

Verse two is even more telling.

Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. (NLT)

Since David was out of the will of God, he became bored and lazy. I mean, what man do you know that takes a nap in the afternoon? David was not doing what he was called to do. As a result, he lost focus, became bored, and was looking for ways to stimulate his excitement. People do not function well with too much time on their hands. What is the old saying: idle hands are the Devil’s plaything.

How does this apply to our life?

Some of us are knowingly avoiding our call. We know that we have been called to a certain task and we don’t want to perform it.

We all know that when we marry, God desires us to become excellent wives. If we decide to have children, God desires us to become excellent mothers. God wants for us to keep an orderly home. These are a given.

However, we are called to minister to others outside the home as well.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live…Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 (NIV)

If you are a woman who is farther down to road, you have a responsibility to help younger women learn how to be a good wife and mother and how to keep a home. Perhaps you are running from that opportunity because, “I don’t have enough time,” or “I don’t know how to teach someone to be a wife and mother,” or “Who’s going to listen to me? I’ve made so many mistakes.”

I would encourage you that you have more to offer than you think! This passage isn’t a suggestion. It’s a command from Peter and God. We can see what happened in David’s life when he abandoned his calling.

Now, a caveat to what I’m saying: there are seasons in life.

If if your relationship with Christ is not where is should be; if your marriage is going through a tough spot; if you are the mother of several very small children; if your house looks like a tornado swept through; now is not the time to start a ministry to others outside the home. Perhaps now is the time to pray that another Godly woman come into your life who can walk along side you as you learn how to get your life in hand. Or, you may need to sit down and determine that you are going to seek God for your life; renew your relationship with Him, with your husband, with your children, or with your house.

the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:8b-9 (NIV)

If you are struggling in one or more of these areas of your life, take heart in this scripture. Take time to sow to the Spirit and you will reap a harvest.

Perhaps you’re like me and you’re impatient, waiting for your time to follow the call of God on your life. Perhaps you think, like I did, that if you don’t use that call, you’ll lose it. Well, Romans 11:29 was written just for you and me. (I love it in both the King James and the NIV.)

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (KJV)

for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. (NIV)

That means that if God has a call on your life, if you feel that call burning in your soul, He will bring it to pass.

Decide today where you are. Are you avoiding the ministry that God has for you? Are you bogged down in everyday life? Are you struggling to be a good wife, mother, homemaker?

Take a step today to move from where you are to where you know God wants you to be. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

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