This is the day.

II Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

The background of this story is familiar to some, and unfamiliar to others. David had stayed home from battle, and while he was home had committed an affair with a married woman he saw bathing on her rooftop within his view. The woman, in turn, became with child by king David. David then brought her husband home from the war, and tried to convince him to go home and be with his wife for the night. When the woman's husband refused, David made sure that her husband would be killed in battle, thus murdering the husband of the woman with whom David had had an affair.

Nathan has now come to David with a message from God, its payday! As a direct result of his sin, David had to watch three of his sons die, and two of his sons rebel against him, trying to become king. There are consequences for your actions. Your sin will come home to roost. You can't blame God! You can't blame others! Taking a quote from verse 7, "thou art the man," its you, not everyone else that has caused the problem, and, guess what, God is not going to "blame" anyone but you for the problem as well. David, as he watched his family slowly fall apart, could not blame anyone but himself. (See devotion for March 25) America has the habit as a nation of blaming others for its problems. Americans always figure out how to point their fingers at the other person, but "thou art the man." David realized this, and wrote one of the most beautiful Psalms of repentance (Psalm 51) during this time in his life. That's also the key for you and me. Repent and let God forgive us and do a work through us, in spite of the sin that we have committed.

Accepting responsibility for your problems:
I. Realize that you have a problem.
II. Accept that you cannot fix the problem.
III. Confess to God that there is a problem, and that YOU are the cause.
IV. Ask God to help with the problem, and, more importantly, to forgive you for what you have done.
V. Be assured that there will be consequences for the action, and that you will not like the consequences.
VI. Let God take control, and, if you are His child, He will work it for your good if you are trying to serve Him.