2 Samuel 12:7-12 New International Version (NIV)
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” Friday, July 10 - 2 Samuel 12:7b-12 God’s Plans Did you notice how many times God says the word “I.” He says, “I anointed… I delivered… I gave you.” God has been working in David’s life giving him everything. David abused God’s love. We never deserve God’s love. We never deserve God’s blessing. It is a free gift. Right now we are living in a blessed country. We take for granted the blessings God gives like clean water, nice housing, cars, abundant food, the connectivity of the internet, freedom to worship anyone and anything. We forget this and reject God’s work in our lives daily. We abuse our privilege and power. We fail to recognize all this for what it really is: a free gift! What if God has a greater purpose for our lives? How might we recognize God’s blessings and use them to bless others?