Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
—Psalm 32:1
For twelve months after committing adultery with Bathsheba, David fought the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He was not experiencing God’s presence as he had before. Was he still in a relationship with God? Yes. Was he in fellowship with God? No.
David wrote Psalm 32 in the aftermath of being confronted by God:
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. (verses 1–3 NLT)
We have seen David’s rise and his fall. And here we see how miserable David was. Psalm 32 describes the futility and misery of sin that is unconfessed. But it was time for David’s comeback—the comeback of a world changer:
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (verse 5 NLT)
When your children disobey you and disappoint you, are they still your children? Yes, they are. Are they in a good relationship with you at the moment? Probably not. That is where David was. But when he was confronted, he repented of his sin.
The Lord waited until David was ready to come clean, and then He dispatched the prophet Nathan. He wanted an appointment with David, and he got one immediately.
Yes, David fell, and he fell big. But he also came back, and he came back strong. That is what we want to do. We need to admit our sin to God, because God gives second chances.