Learning From Mistakes

Anneta Pinto-Young 2 Minutes
“Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped” (2 Samuel 12:20).

There is a really sad story in 2 Samuel 11, of David who slept with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. When she became pregnant and David could not succeed in convincing Uriah to sleep with her to cover it up, he had him killed in battle. David then married Bathsheba and he perceived that no one knew what he had done. God revealed David’s sin to the prophet Nathan who confronted him about it. The consequence of David’s sin was that the son that Bathsheba bore to him died. David lamented in prayer and fasting before God to ask him to save the child. After the child died, David washed and anointed himself and went to the house of the Lord to worship.

David’s actions confused his servants as they did not understand how he could spend time in worship after losing his son. He did not blame God because he knew that his son’s death was the consequence of his sin. Nevertheless, David did not allow his mistake to separate him from the presence of God. He sought God to see if he would spare the child and even after the child died, he worshipped God. This showed that David understood the need for repentance and restitution. He knew enough to know that once he repented, that God would restore him in right standing.

This is why David said in Psalm 51, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). God sees our heart and he knows when we are truly sorry for our sins. We don’t need to wallow in self pity, guilt and shame any longer than necessary. Once we have acknowledged our sin, we make restitution where possible, confess our sins to God and rest in his forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

If you feel weighed down by guilt and shame due to making a mistake, confess to God your faults and failures. Repent of your sins and accept God’s forgiveness because God says that you are forgiven. “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity” (Proverbs 24:16).

A.P.-Y.

Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.

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6 thoughts on “Learning From Mistakes”

  1. David did not allow his mistake to seperate himself from God and he understood the need for restitution and repentance- absolutely. Even though David made such a grave mistake, he teaches us so much through how he responds when he is called out on his sin.

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