Every morning, my 2yo daughter and I say something to each other in the car:

It’s one of the first phrases I taught her. Why? So that she’d say it to me at random unexpected moments and catch me by surprise. So that, well, ultimately I would repent often. She says it with gusto too. “You repent!” And sometimes, “You repent on the floor!” My son added that to her repertoire of prophetic phrases.

I know. We’re an odd family.

Anyway, my wife had a couple of her friends over last night.

Ding dong. First friend enters. My 2yo runs to the door. The first phrase out of her mouth: “You repent!” The friend freezes like a deer caught in headlights and says out of the corner of her mouth, “Whaaaat?” I wasn’t there but I can imagine her big eyes darting around the room looking for a hidden camera. “Did… she just tell me to… repent?” Incredulously, she looks at my wife who can’t contain her laughter any longer. She explains that it’s a phrase I taught her and not a Balaam’s donkey moment.

Ding dong. Second friend arrives. My 2yo says to her, yep one more time, “You repent!” In her words, the second friend shared that “she almost died”, that she was “seriously scared and freaked out because it was so timely.” Again, after the “What? (nervous laughter) Did she tell me to repent?” they eased her fears by revealing the truth.

God is constantly speaking to us throughout the day calling us to repentance, worship, and obedience. The problem is not that he has stopped speaking but we have stopped listening. And one of the reasons we don’t listen is because we don’t like the person or the method God is using to speak to us. We’ve all said things like this before “How could he of all people say that to me?” While it may be true that “he” may not have the character the speak into other people’s lives, we must still ask the question, “Is it true? Is it accurate? Does it have validity? Is he on point at all?” If there’s even an ounce of truth, we must humbly take it into our hearts and repent.

King David experienced this toward the latter portion of his life. His very son Absalom staged a coup d’état against him. How painful that must have been. David becomes an overnight fugitive. To add insult to injury, this takes place:

2 SAMUEL 16 ⁵ As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. ⁶ He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. ⁷ As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! ⁸ The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!“

His men were understandably super ticked off. Let us slice and dice this guy!

How does the pained king respond?

¹⁰ If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ¹¹ David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. ¹² It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.”

How can David say this? How can he receive the pelting of the stones and the judgmental words that hurt like rocks? Because he knew who he was. He knew his fundamental identity was not king but sinner. When he slept with Bathsheba and killed Uriah he was deaf to God’s voice and acted as if he was above the law of God. Through painful consequences, he rediscovers his identity. Broken by God’s loving discipline, David now humbly submits and listens to the Word of God, even if it is from the mouth of Shimei. ‘I am a scoundrel, a sinner. I deserve far more than what Shimei is throwing at me. I deserve death. He’s right. I am a man of blood. Preach to me Shimei and I will repent and become better.’

God is speaking through unlikely prophets.

Is anybody listening?

He who has an ear, let him HEAR what the Spirit says… Rev. 2

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