Wk 1 Day 4 - 2 Samuel 12:1-3a

So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet

to tell David this story:

"There were two men in a certain town.

One was rich, and one was poor.

The rich man owned many sheep ...

The poor man owned nothing but

a little lamb he had worked hard to buy.

2 Samuel 12:1-3a

Question three in 50 Days of Prayer (pg 9) ponders how Nathan knew that he was to go to David with the story about the rich man and the poor man’s sheep. David Chotka’s conclusion: We don’t know.

“Wait!” I can hear you say, “I thought this story was about finding out how God speaks. If we don’t know how God spoke to the prophet, then how will we know how God speaks to us?”

Here’s what you need to know …

This is not a story about Nathan, the prophet. This is the story about David, a human being who allowed himself to descend into a dark place.

Which of the two am I more like? If you’re like me, prophecy is not your primary spiritual gift. Therefore, I’m more like David. I’m the guy who occasionally descends into dark places.

Since I’m not a prophet, I need to spend my time pondering today how God spoke to David – rather than to the Prophet Nathan.

The way in which God spoke to David was through his encounter with a godly person.

Am I surrounding myself with Godly people? Am I surrounding myself with people who are willing to speak the truth to me in love (Eph 4:15). Indeed, do I have a “prophet” in my life, instead of a dozen “yes-men.”

Am I humble enough to listen to their godly guidance, rather than proudly defending my actions.

One of the ways that God speaks to us is through the godly counsel of godly friends. Maybe it’s time to upgrade the quality and character of your friends.

And I say this advisedly. We all need to look like a sheep from the front and a shepherd from behind.

• The sheep-part-of-us needs a strong Christian mentor to follow. Those are the only people we should ever seek advice from. Therefore, who are your Christian mentors?
• The shepherd-part-of-us needs to be leading other sheep, including outcasts and sinners. We don’t seek advice from sheep, though! Rather, our time with shepherds helps us put on the armor, so we can help sheep in the valley of wolves.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who is hard-headed …

I tend to defend myself first

whenever a shepherd or prophet speaks

… but I’m eventually humble enough

to let true truth sink in

(I just wish I weren’t so proud and hard initially)