Heart of a Warrior: Success & Setbacks
In Part 2 of The Heart of a Warrior, our 3-part series covering the life of David, we continue learning how to become people after God’s own heart. If you haven’t seen Part 1 of the series, Calling & Character, be sure to check it out and prepare your heart for the next chapter in our character study!
As we continue putting ourselves into David’s story to discover more about life and faith, Eric Jones both encourages and strengthens us throughout his message, Success & Setbacks. In Part 1 of our series, we juxtaposed David’s kingship with his predecessor’s, King Saul.
Saul’s selfish way of living and unwillingness to change his ways and realign himself with the Lord ultimately led to his demise and destruction. In God’s perfect timing, David takes his place as King of Israel, as we see below in 2 Samuel, continuing through David’s story.
2 Samuel 5:3-4 (NLT) 3So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel. 4David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all.
Remember, David was anointed by the prophet Samuel when he was 15 years old. Now, at age 30, David is anointed as king after being faithful in the field, secure in his skin, and trusting God’s timing, like we explored in part 1 of our study.
As God’s promise to David comes to pass, we’re diving into the next phase of David’s life, uncovering both his successes and setbacks, to help us better understand how we ourselves can grow as followers of Jesus in the places God has put us. We, too, can become people after God’s own heart!
Success & Setbacks
In the United States, when a new president is elected, the media and national community observe and judge a president’s first 100 days in office as a metric for judging the president’s character, their mission, the things they care most about, and even their potential for success.
If we take a look at David’s first 100 days as king, we see that those first three months are nothing shy of tremendously impressive. David had decided he was not going to live his life in the ways of the world, but instead, he would establish his life in the way of Scripture and lead in the way Jesus led. Here’s the deal–When we do things God’s way, we get God’s results!
David’s Successes
In Success & Setbacks, at timestamp 7:12 through 12:25, Eric Jones shares details on each of the events that took place within David’s first 100 days as king, and you can look up the accompanying scriptures to go along with each victory. Here’s a quick summary of David’s accomplishments:
David’s First 100 Days
2 Samuel 5 - David Conquers Jerusalem
2 Samuel 6 - David Returns the Ark of the Covenant
2 Samuel 7 - David Plans to Build a Temple
2 Samuel 8 - David Defeats the Philistines
2 Samuel 9 - David Restores Mephibosheth
2 Samuel 10 - David Subdues the Ammonites
As you can see, David prioritized God’s leading and therefore, he walked in God’s blessing. David’s kingship was marked by God’s hand, not just by the intuition or wisdom or creativity of man. David surrendered to the will and plan of God and his success was fully credited to his faithfulness. Let’s be encouraged by this Psalm as we’re reminded of how to best live our lives for the Lord:
Psalms 119:1-3 (MSG) You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right–you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.
Like David, we too should be steady and walk with courage, character, strength, and integrity. Not only will we be blessed by the results of this lifestyle, but God will also bless those around us because of our faithfulness. Amen!
Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV) 1Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. 3He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
As believers, we are called to be people who do not sit in the seat of the scornful or stand in the way of the wicked; we meditate on God’s word and do our best to follow His teaching. When the temptation of the world comes to divert us toward a different direction, we choose to stay the course, even when it gets challenging.
David’s Setbacks
In 2 Samuel chapters 5 through 10, we see remarkable blessing and success in David’s life. As we continue through Eric’s message, Success & Setbacks, we see in chapter 11 of 2 Samuel that when we take our eyes off of Jesus, we risk getting comfortable and becoming susceptible to attack. It happened to David, and it can happen to us, too.
2 Samuel 11:1-5 (NLT) 1In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. 2Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
3He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. Then she returned home. 5Later, when Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, she sent David a message saying, “I’m pregnant.”
During this time, David’s kingdom was advancing. Israel was growing and prospering and taking new territory. It was evident that God’s hand was mightily working in David’s life…until David’s story seems to get interrupted.
2 Samuel 11:1 (NLT) 1In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
At this time, David made the decision to prioritize his flesh over the things that God had called him to do. Unfortunately, David does what a lot of us try to do when we make a mistake; he tries to cover up his sin. If you continue reading in 2 Samuel 11, you’ll see that David intentionally sends Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, to the front of the battle so that he would be killed.
In one short chapter, we see David transition from being a mighty man of valor, character, and integrity, living in the way of God, to now becoming an adulterer, liar, and murderer.
Throughout Success & Setbacks, we’re taking a look at 3 key points in David’s mistake that will help us avoid the same pitfalls that he did. We all have the opportunity to experience temptation and fall into it in the same way that David did.
Unfortunately, sin will oftentimes take us further than we want to go. It will keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we want to pay. As believers in Jesus, the enemy wants nothing more than to lead us down a path that will take us out of God’s plan for our lives.
So, how do we avoid the pitfalls of David and stay firmly planted on the course God has for us? We discover 3 ways to do just that in Success & Setbacks. Be encouraged: even though David found himself in a compromised position, hurting himself and those around him through his choices with and after Bathsheba, he encountered a good God–a God full of faithfulness, mercy, and forgiveness. Even still, God called David a man after His own heart.
Here’s the takeaway: Our mistakes don’t define us! We can learn from our mistakes, grow from them, and experience the grace and goodness of God. We can keep building our relationship with Him even after a setback like David’s There is hope today! Let’s dive into the 3 ways to avoid pitfalls that we cover in depth in Success & Setbacks.
1. Resist Complacency
Complacency: a feeling of security and self-satisfaction that causes you to be unaware of actual dangers or deficiencies.
2 Samuel 11:1 (NLT) 1In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
You see, the first mistake David made–way before he got into an adulterous position and experienced the temptation of lustful desires–was that he fell into the temptation of complacency.
Oftentimes, we try to justify and validate our attitude of complacency to avoid feeling guilty about it. Check out timestamp 24:56 in Success & Setbacks to hear Eric perfectly relate David’s struggles to our own day-to-day lives and challenges.
The real issue with David sending Joab to do his job is that God never told David to do it; God told David to go and lead the nation of Israel into battle. Dvid allowed complacency to reside in his heart and ultimately opened the door to temptation for compromise. We must resist complacency!
Complacency is when we stop esteeming the things of God like we once did–we no longer place the same value on what God has given us as we did in a prior season. We need to have the maturity and the courage to recognize our feelings of complacency and then resist them.
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
In Christ, we have victory and we know that the enemy is a defeated foe. When the temptation of the enemy comes our way, God will always show us a way out. But if we allow ourselves to become complacent, the enemy then has space and opportunity to devour us. Here’s how we combat complacency:
2 Timothy 1:6 (NLT) This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.
The easiest way to fight complacency is to choose passion and remember and focus on the good things God has given us. We are not an apathetic church; we are a church that’s defined by the things we’re passionate about—we’re passionate about the things God is also passionate about!
Discussion:
In what areas of your life have you felt or experienced complacency?
If you’re experiencing complacency now, what are some action steps to initiate that will help you get back on track?
2. Repent Quickly
Repentance: to change one’s mind. It is a word picture of someone who is walking in one direction but makes a decision to turn around and go the other direction.
Here’s the truth: We all find ourselves in situations where we say yes to temptation, yes to sin. None of us are striving toward sin, of course. And thankfully, the grace of God does not lead us to sin; it strengthens us to live lives pleasing to the Lord. God is not as concerned about our sin as we sometimes think He is because He’s already given us the solution to our sinful nature: Jesus.
Jesus came to take away our sin and in its place, give us freedom to live God’s way rather than our own way of the world. Simply put, sin is our way of trying to define life in our terms as opposed to in God’s terms.
As believers who follow Christ, when we feel that we have sinned, the best response is to repent quickly. It’s making a 180 degree turn away from the sinful direction we were going by making an honest and open confession and turning toward God to get back on the path He designed for our lives.
None of us were created to live life bearing the weight of shame and guilt and condemnation that comes from sin in our lives that we keep hidden. The longer we wait to deal with sin, the heavier our baggage becomes. Which is exactly why we choose to repent quickly.
1 John 1:9 (NLT) But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
In Success & Setbacks at timestamp 34:49 ish, Eric shares a fantastic example of quick repentance that we can all learn from and practice for ourselves!
God meets us where we’re at and covers us with His grace; the goodness of God is what leads us to repentance. Amen!
Romans 2:4 (NKJV) …the goodness of God leads you to repentance.
David, too, opened his heart before God and even before trusted voices in his life. He admitted the wrong things that he did and then went through a reconciliation process to be redeemed and restored. David still dealt with the consequences of his sin, and we still have to deal with the consequences of our own sin, too.
God redeems us by setting us back on the right course. He is faithful!
Discussion:
Have you ever apologized without repenting? What is the difference to you?
How does it make you feel to suffer the consequences of sin?
Is repentance fueled by guilt and shame or love and redemption?
3. Return to Battle
David’s successes and setbacks that we’ve talked about so far took place over the course of two plus years. The battle against the Ammonites is still raging and, now that God has restored David and put him back on the path God set for him, David gathers the rest of the army and finally follows God’s plan.
2 Samuel 12:26,29 (NLT) 26Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications, [...] 29So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.
Originally, God called David to fight this battle to experience the reward and the joy that comes from victory. Two years later, the battle is still going on, and it won’t be done until David goes and fights it.
There are some battles in life that will not be won by anyone else but us. God has positioned us to fight some battles, battles that not only will help our lives but will also help those around us. There are callings and purposes and plans for our lives that only we can bring to fruition, by God’s perfect design.
When we find ourselves in moments when our lives get off course, we need to follow David’s example and return to the battle. Whether it’s through circumstances or our own design, there will be moments when our life gets off course. In those times, we resist complacency, we repent quickly, and we return to battle.
God does not want to shame or condemn us; He is a good God who loves us and wants to welcome us back into His plan and get us back on track!
Psalm 119:1-3 (MSG) You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right–you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.
We are blessed because we walk the steady course that God has set for us!
Discussion:
Has there been a time when you got off track or diverted from God’s plan? Did you return to battle? Why or why not?
In your current season, is there an area of your life that God wants to help you overcome your setback and redirect your path? What will it look like for you to return to battle now?
Remember, David’s story does not end here; his adulterous and murderous past does not end up defining his life. David leaves a powerful legacy and ultimately becomes the key figure in the lineage of Jesus. There is no sin, no struggle, too big for Jesus to overcome and get us back on track!
Stay tuned for the 3rd and final part of The Heart of a Warrior series! We’ll wrap up David’s story and his life by looking at his legacy and his lineage to see how we, ourselves, can build lives that sustain well beyond our time on earth. Amen!
Prayer:
Father, we thank you so much for your word. We’re putting all of our attention on the word of God to learn from you and grow closer to your heart. Help us Lord to go on through our weeks looking, walking, talking, and being more and more like Jesus. God, we trust you to help us learn and grow and we lean in and open our hearts to You as you minister to our spirits and direct our paths. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
