The Lord is Merciful

The Lord is Merciful

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional -February 6, 2024

“Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes, I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.’” —2 Samuel 12:9-11

“Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.’” —2 Samuel 12:13-14

Psalm 119 reflects David’s heartfelt plea to God, “Do not leave me to my oppressors.” Although God forgave the king for his wilful sins of adultery and murder, David’s sins brought severe consequences to his life. The Lord extended abundant mercies by sparing David’s life, but His judgment would remain. The curse of oppression and strife was fulfilled and enacted by those in his household just as the prophet foretold.

God is always merciful. David was surrounded by enemies during his entire reign including two of his sons, the princes Absalom and Adonijah who were his greatest enemies. But God did not allow the son’s plans to come to fruition and harm their father. God appointed David’s and Bathsheba’s second son, Solomon to be the heir to David’s throne. Not only was Solomon the wisest man that ever lived, he was allowed to build the temple.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” —Jeremiah 17:9

We must reflect deeply on the terrible condition of the human heart. David’s sins were heinous, but he felt no remorse. The sin of entitlement resulted in King David abusing his position to pursue his desires. Only when God sent the prophet Nathan to expose David’s sins did he confess and repent. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

“You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.” —Deuteronomy 5:33

We cannot condemn David because we are also following our hearts. Our focus has turned from God to ourselves. As one pastor stated, “We have become the idol that we worship.” When we fail to include God in our daily routines by asking for His guidance, we move forward in our decisions to purchase houses or vehicles, pursue success, and enter into relationships and marriages that are contrary to His will.

Yet there are consequences for the Christians who fulfill their heart’s desires without God’s Divine Blessing. When our perception of what it means to live a faithful and obedient life pleasing to God does not align with His Righteous principles, we lose our right standing with God. Our failure to surrender and seek His will every day is disobedience. From our decision to please ourselves, we exchange the freedom of righteousness for the enslavement of sinful oppression.

God’s desire is for us to worship Him with faithful obedience. “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence…” (1 Timothy 2:2). God does not excuse any acts of disobedience. Do we understand that our independent thoughts and actions reflect a decision to live according to our dictates? God knows the motives of our hearts and our level of spiritual understanding.

“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger, and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.” —Psalm 145:8-9

Following our hearts [unless it is pursuing Christ] is disobedience and disobedience separates us from God. Yet, even in our sinfulness, our Heavenly Father extends abundant mercies. Using conviction, the Holy Spirit tugs on the heart of the believer who has veered from the Narrow Path of Righteousness. Because of Christ, we have the life-saving option of not staying on the detour road paved by disobedience.

Although the Holy Spirit uses various ways, [feeling the discontent of wrongdoing in our conscience, using our thoughts, Scriptures, sermons, spiritually mature people, and even a post on social media] to expose our sins of disobedience, we never have to use guesswork regarding our specific sins. Every sin secret or open is exposed by God.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” —Jeremiah 29:11

Yes, it is a struggle to live holy! We have traveled too far in our spiritual journey to throw away our reward of Eternal life for the temporary pleasures of this world. The power of the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to bring our flesh into subjection to the will of God. With faith and courage, determine that you will stay in the right standing with God.

Prayer: “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.” Psalm 119:37

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