⁵ David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! ⁶ He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.” ⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man!”                                        II Sam. 12:5-7
Anyone remember this story? Nathan the prophet calls out David by telling him a story that David thought demanded his judgment. This is right after David had sex with Bathsheba and killed her husband. David’s response to Nathan’s story: “He deserves to die!” Then Nathan turns to him and says, “You’re that man!”

Have you ever been in David’s shoes? I can feel his heart sinking into his stomach. He was the king, so I’m sure he thought he was above everyone and everything. He was sure he would never get busted or at least ever have to pay the consequences of his actions. He was quick to judge others, slow in judging himself. Then he gets called out.

Getting called out on anything in life is humiliating. It’s even worse when we’ve just judged someone else for doing the same thing we’re guilty of. What can we learn from this?

1.) Let’s Quit Judging Others- Jesus said, Judge not, or else you’ll be judged. Galatians 1:6 said if we’re spiritual, instead of judging someone for their actions, we’re to help restore them.

2.) Have Mercy on Others – The only reason any of us aren’t going to Hell for what we’ve done is by the grace and mercy of God. Let’s give others the grace and mercy that God’s given us.

3.) Recognize You Could be “That Man”- I promise you in each of our lives there are area’s that  people could point to us and say, “You’re that man” and we’d be totally humiliated. So be careful before you point the finger at someone else and condemn them, because someone might be near that will call you out.

4.) Be Humble, Don’t Try to Impress People, Just be Impressive – Pride will keep us from admitting our faults and allows us to judge others without judging ourselves. We should have one focus: living our lives for God to the best of our ability. If we’ll do that, we’ll take ourselves out of positions of  getting called out and we’ll be in positions to give grace and mercy to others without judging them.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”        -Acts 1:8

I was talking to a Pastor that lives in a small town. This man has been all over the world and done some pretty incredible things. As I was talking to him, he said, “Because of what God has done in this town and through our church, it’s opened up the whole world to me.”

That really got me thinking. I’ve always desired to do so many things – travel all around the world, meet incredible people, and do incredible things. When he said “Because of what God has done” it got me thinking about my life.

I’ve gotten to go to Peru, Africa, a ton of places in the U.S., I’ve met some incredible people, run 3 marathons, and done some pretty awesome things. I would have never done any of these things if I wouldn’t have made a decision in my life to go after God with all of my heart.

Jesus said to go into the entire world and preach the good news. God wants to take us on the adventure of a lifetime through serving Him. An adventure we won’t even believe we get go on. But the adventure has a cost:

Jesus always set a high bar for people who wanted to go on an adventure with Him – Leave everything and FOLLOW ME. The ones who weren’t willing, missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. The ones who did had the entire world open up to them.

Where are the places God wants to take you if you’ll simply follow Him? Who are the people He wants you to meet? What are the things He wants you to do? Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

Will you follow Him? If you do, watch as the entire world opens up to you!

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - II Cor. 12:9-10

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with what you’re not? With where you’re not? With how far you feel like you have to go?

I know I do, and if I’m not careful, I can let those thoughts sink me. Sink me into a position where I feel paralyzed by my inability or my weaknesses.

When we are in these positions, it’s pivotal we believe what God says. The Bible says where we are weak, He is strong, that our weaknesses allow the perfect opportunity for God to show up in our lives.

It’s true that in ourselves we are nothing, we can do nothing, and we have nothing. But in Him, we have everything, we are everything, and we can do anything.

God wants to work in and through us in spite of you, and in spite of me. The Bible, with a list in Hebrews 11, is filled with people that God used mightily in spite of themselves. He did it for them, and He’ll do it for you. 

So stop getting depressed about what you’re not, your weaknesses, and your shortcomings, and start giving them all to God, because He’s going to use you in spite of you!