1 Chronicles 20

1Ch 20:1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it.

This verse may sound a bit familiar. Maybe you read it and it left an eerie feeling with you. The reason can be found in 2 Samuel 11. This is during the time David had his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. What is good to know is that, while David was in sin, the rest of the world was still spinning. Joab was still conquering. Israel was still expanding. God was still doing a work.

God’s intensions are always to restore people. The Chronicler writes this part of the story just as if David had never sinned. Now I am not saying we are to hide our sin. Absolutely not! Instead, God chooses to erase it. For many people in Israel, life just continued. While David was frantically trying to cover his sin, the other guys were in battle.

If you are struggling with a sin, do not think it is the end of the world. Instead, humble yourself, admit your fault, and let God restore you. You will not deserve all that He ends up giving you, but that is okay. To be humbled by the Lord, and to humble yourself before the Lord, is far better than to try to put up a perfect image. Imagine if David’s sin was never found out. He may have never returned to the battle field again! Instead, he would have been living a lie, so he could walk where he did not belong. God’s restoration comes after you have been humbled. Afterwards, you are once again a tool for God to use.