How to Rebound From Bad Decisions — How to Rebound from Bad Decisions

Our lives move in the direction of our decisions, and bad decisions tend to produce bad consequences. Second Samuel 11 traces David's downward spiral from a man after God's own heart into betrayal, adultery, and murder through a predictable sequence: abandoning his God-given mission, focusing on the wrong thing, letting curiosity lead toward sin, and turning thoughts into action. Bad decisions become worse when we try to cover them up, and James 1 maps the pattern of desire, enticement, sin, and death. Yet the message turns toward hope by walking through the stages of change, from pre-contemplation to action, that prepare a heart to rebound. Nathan's confrontation and David's response in Psalm 51 show that repentance is changing the mind, agreeing with God, and turning around, letting him chip away everything that does not look like Jesus.