Don't you?
Have you ever asked yourself, "Why did I do that?"
Have you ever had moments of regret?
At the time, it might seem like an ok course of action, but in hindsight, it was terrible, and maybe even traumatic.
Now, sometimes, we simply make mistakes.
However, at other times, we intentionally overstep boundaries, and maybe we end up on a Coldplay Kiss Cam…and then on endless memes.
Whether we've made a simple mistake or a mistake that turns into news headlines, there are (almost) always consequences.
And in echoing the American Christian rock band Relient K, we "so hate consequences".
And yet, even when we know there will be consequences, we still think we can get away with doing wrong.
And so we do whatever it is, and we hope that we don't get caught out.
Maybe we downplay our actions or the subsequent consequences.
"It's not that big a deal."
"I was ready to for a change anyway."
Maybe we hide.
We cover our faces and duck out of sight…hoping against hope that no one notices.
Perhaps we pretend it never happened.
Usually, the last thing we want is to have to own our actions and face the consequences.
The last thing we want is to be held accountable.
And while we may think we've gotten away with a lot, there is always One who sees.
King David knew this.
We're not told if anyone else knew about his adultery with Bathsheba…but he certainly tried to keep it from her husband.
Having got Bathsheba pregnant, David even brought her husband home from war, thinking, "If I can just get him to sleep with his wife, then we can pass the baby off as his."
But Uriah wasn't going to have any of it.
Not when his men were camped in the open along a battlefront.
Gotta hate a guy with principles, right?
So what does David do?
He decides to have Uriah murdered.
And in this case, at least his general, Joab, was aware of David's intentions.
What else was he hoping to achieve by wanting Uriah to be included in the frontline of battle where the fighting would be fiercest (2 Samuel 11:14-25)?
Even though only a small group of people, maybe only two, would have known his intentions, he couldn't run away from God.
He gets held to account by the prophet Nathan.
And the consequence of his adultery and murder was the death of the child he had conceived with Bathsheba.
Who would want to face that consequence?
And yet, rather than run away, which Relient K calls "our best defence", (and if we're honest, it's our natural tendency), David runs TO God, trusting in His goodness and grace.
Kind David knew that there was no escaping from God.
In Psalm 139, he writes:
"You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely…Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night to me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."
We're not all going to appear on Kiss Cam.
We can hide things from social media.
We can hide things from those close to us.
But God knows.
God sees.
And even though we might be ashamed of what we've done…even though we might feel guilty (and rightly so)…we need to turn to him.
He doesn't rub it in our face.
He doesn't say, "I told you so."
When we return home like the prodigal son, God welcomes us.
That's not to say that there won't be consequences for when we mess up.
Despite his repentance…despite his fasting…despite his prayers, David & Bathsheba's child still died.
Consequences will still be there.
And we'll still have to deal with them.
But the good news is that we can also rest, as David did, trusting in the sovereignty of the God who created us.
Moreover, we can trust in the salvation that Christ has won for us through His perfect life, sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection, and glorious ascension.
Jesus has paid the price for our mistakes – past, present, AND future.
And because of God's great love for us, we get to rejoice in his presence and worship him for all of eternity.
This is such good news…even in the midst of our consequences.
May we, like David, boldly pray:
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
