Devotional - July 21, 2004

Scripture says that David was a man after God's heart. Even though he had that distinction, one has to wonder how a great sinner and man of war like him could be likened to God in any fashion.

If David was known for transgressing God's law, then he is equally known for being restored to God by confessing his sin, making restitution and repenting. Therefore, we can conclude that God favored David for his willingness to admit his error and submit to sometimes heavy discipline.

Like me, many of you may be able to relate to David as much as any other person in the Bible, except maybe the apostle Peter. In the way Peter had a problem putting his foot in his mouth, David had a problem with his mouth in general. So much so, that David had to make a covenant with himself that he would not say anything that God didn't want to hear. Of course, should he fail in that attempt he'd go back to square one: confession and every step to repentance.

Was it his prayer that empowered him to keep his speech clean or God giving him supernatural ability? Actually, I think it was neither. Most of us make promises or resolutions in the morning that we sincerely intend to keep, but before the end of the day, we find we've failed. Prayer is good, but it is only by a firm resolve to keep a right relationship with God that we can say, "I do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" (Php 4:13)

A resolution to do anything is a statement that by God's grace and our conviction, we'll keep short accounts with Him. That means, we should never expect God to store up our transgressions until we get willing and in a suitable place to make it right. Such a failure to confess our sin is the first step in loosening the grip the Holy Spirit has on our desires.

The more we hold tightly to our sin, the less God helps us. The less He helps, the deeper our transgression. The deeper our sin, the less we hear God's voice. The less we hear God's voice, the less we remember him and the less we remember him, the less we desire to pray. And if we never attempt to pray, we'll never know He's not there.

If today you find you're unable to do a simple thing such as keep your words clean, you'd better get right with God right now. More than likely, everything you're doing is by your own strength. The Holy Spirit has likely been pushed aside by your sinful nature that now is in control of your desire.

But take note: everything that comes out out our mouth is not bad. Take praise for God for example, or even confession. There are times we should speak and times when we should not. It's about control and now that we know the Controller, or the Holy Spirit, is there to help us, we need to speak the very words of God and that way our mouth will seldom, if ever, sin.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( 2 Ch. 4:1-6:13a Rm. 7:1-14 Ps. 17:1-15 Pr. 19:22-23 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society