Way back in the archives of the Men’s Alliance podcast, I talked about the difference between being a lighthouse or a shipwreck (Ep 7). It’s just a 6-minute episode and it’s a blast from the past. If you missed it, click here to check it out… I’ll wait here.
Last week in my Bible reading, I discovered that 2 Samuel 12 is literally a blueprint for how to become the lighthouse. Check this out:
- Repent. In 2 Samuel 12:13, David repents out loud saying, “I have sinned against the Lord.” This is what owning your failures looks like. There’s no avoidance, or deflection. He doesn’t blame the woman. He says, “I have sinned.”
- Mourn. Repenting is the first step, but it doesn’t just make everything better. There’s still heartache and punishment resulting from the sin.. In verses 16 and 17, David prays, cries out to God, sleeps on the bare ground, and refuses to eat any food for seven days.
- Recalibrate. David gets back up. He doesn’t stay down. Verse 20 tells us, “David got up from the floor, washed his face and…went into the sanctuary and worshiped.” Then he went and comforted his wife. He chose to focus on her needs and not self-pity.
- Reengage. Once David had recalibrated his priorities around God and family, it was time to get back into the fight. 2 Samuel 12 ends with David conquering the city of Rabbah where he “took the crown from their king’s head, and it was placed on his own head.”
This chapter starts with David hitting rock bottom, and ends with him victorious in battle! That’s because David didn’t skip any steps. He repented of his sin, mourned in prayer and fasting, got up and recalibrated his marriage and family, and then reengaged the enemy.
This is how all of us can “get back up every time.” This is our blueprint for being a lighthouse, not a shipwreck.