Having a heart after God has been on my mind lately. I’ve heard of multiple christians and non-christians alike failing miserably who obviously didn’t have their hearts in the right place. They ended up losing their fans, followings, families, and their lives because of one costly mistake. Did they think they could get away with it? I’m sure they convinced themselves that they could. But their sin came to light and they experienced repercussions for their actions. Not only for themselves but for their families, friends, and businesses.

As christians, we need to be alert, know our weaknesses, and stand firm when temptation comes. Everyone is different so recognizing your weaknesses and staying away from those things will help tremendously. I know this seems elementary but I hear of too many of us flirting and tippy-toeing on the line. We think we won’t get burned and then “all of the sudden” we realize that we’re in a full-fledged fire. Well, it doesn’t just happen all of the sudden. It starts with small compromises that lead us away from God’s will.

Small compromises begin to saturate us with kerosene little by little until all it takes is one struck match to light us up. Then we look around for others to put out the flames but realize they can’t help. You started it and now you will have to deal with the consequences. Of course, God can and will forgive you if you repent and turn away from your sins. God’s grace and mercy will cover us but we will still have consequences for our actions.

Consequences could last for the rest of our lives and even on into future generations. For example, David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) before he sinned. Most christians know how he failed miserably with Bathsheba. He had a comfortable and thriving life. He went from shepherd to king and his kingdom was thriving. He was winning in every way and had the favor of God in his life. Then David happened to see Bathsheba bathing one day.

His rooftop was higher than others and it was custom to bathe on rooftops apparently in that time. Let’s explore the compromises that led to his fall and learn from those mistakes, shall we?

David saw Bathsheba bathing and we can gather that he might have kept watching her instead of looking away (first compromise). We know for sure he began to flirt with danger when he asked around to find out who she was (second compromise). He was told who she was and that not only was she married already but her husband and father were part of his elite bodyguard (third compromise). Her grandfather was on David’s advisory council as well. And it just so happened David was married already too. Then he had the audacity to still send for her to come meet with him at his place (fourth compromise).

Let’s be real, some of us get too big for our britches too and think we can get away with anything. We start making compromises like David does…

After those three or four compromises, David was soaked in kerosene getting primed and ready to burn. He then lit the match that totally set himself on fire by committing adultery with her. The coverup began but like with all sin, you can’t hide it or get away with it. It will always come to light.

Bathsheba was pregnant and wasn’t with her husband, Uriah. He was off fighting a war that David commanded him to go fight. Bathsheba told David she was having his baby. At first, David tried to cover it up by calling her husband home to spend the night with her. Uriah refused to go home and even see her because he didn’t want to be home and comfortable while his fellow soldiers were off fighting in the war.

David then tried getting him drunk but he still wouldn’t go home to his wife. In desperation, David sent a letter with Uriah to bring back to Joab saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he might be struck down” (2 Samuel 11). Joab followed orders and Uriah died in that battle.

So, not only did David get Bathsheba pregnant, he also had her husband killed to TRY to cover up his sin. He broke 4 out of the 10 commandments: do not lie, don’t covet your neighbor’s wife, don’t murder, and don’t commit adultery. Now that Uriah was out of the picture, David waited for Bathsheba to mourn his death and then married her. The ultimate attempt at coverup right?

“But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.” 2 Samuel 11:27

David’s close friend Nathan, who was a prophet, was sent from the Lord to visit him. Nathan told a story that opened up David’s eyes to the reality of his sin. David repented to the Lord. 2 Samuel 12:12 says “Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.” David’s household and the country were then cursed and at continual war from then on. David was forgiven but still had repercussions afterward.

Temptations are different for everyone. What tempts someone may have no effect at all on another. Temptation isn’t only sexual in nature. It can be in the form of food, alcohol, shopping, popularity, stealing, wanting someone else’s life (envious), revenge, wealth, gossiping, unforgiveness, anger, drugs, partying, and the list goes on and on. But when we give into temptation and sin we harm not only ourselves but those we love.

I too have experienced God removing His favor and blessings from my life. It was the worst feeling ever. I had every opportunity not to cross the line but I chose to anyway. I was rebellious and felt full of myself and did what I thought I wanted. Immediately I lost the favor of God and EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong. I was a hateful and horrible person for a while until I turned away from my sin and back to God. I was very unhappy and certainly not satisfied.

I realized that God sets boundaries for us not because He hates us and doesn’t want us to have fun. God sets boundaries because He loves us. He wants to protect us and to enjoy a fulfilling life. Temptations promise us everything but in reality, will leave us with nothing. Giving into temptation will leave us starving for attention, fame, pleasure, success, and power but will NEVER satisfy. The further we get away from God, the emptier and unfulfilled we will be naturally.

We need to learn from David, myself, and others who have failed. Let’s face it, we have all sinned and fallen short. I’m not giving an excuse and saying it’s okay to sin. I’m saying we aren’t perfect and we need the Lord to guide us. Even though there is forgiveness, there will still be consequences. David gave up his life of peace for the next 30-40 years until he died. Momentary pleasure isn’t worth losing God’s favor in your life.

I came up with 5 questions to ask yourself and honestly answer that will reveal if your heart is in the right place. I’m seriously asking myself these questions too and will continue to throughout my life because I want to ensure that my heart is fully surrendered to God.

Do you spend time with Him? If you aren’t spending any time with God throughout the week, how can you have a heart after God? When you love someone, you want to spend time with them and please them. If you love someone you will actually MAKE time for them. Our relationship with God involves 4 parts: praying, studying, and listening which will naturally lead us to take action. You won’t just know what God wants you to do, you will do those things naturally because you love the Lord with ALL your heart. Do your actions line up with the Word? Do you think you’re above having moral conduct in your life? It doesn’t matter if it’s only one tiny area of your life that you live in the grey because all sin is sin. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous (greed), nor drunkards, nor revilers (abusive speech), nor swindlers (fraud), will inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 has more immoral examples. The point is, your actions will cause others to stumble or will point them to Jesus. Do you have a poisonous thought life? Anger, unforgiveness, irrational, and emotional thoughts can obscure reality. The Bible teaches us to dwell on things that are lovely. If it’s ugly and doesn’t line up with the Word of God, throw it out and replace it with God’s truth. You can love because Christ first loved you. You can forgive because Christ forgave you. You can stop being worried about who’s out to get you when you stop being so self-focused. Are you humble and kind? “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” Philippians 2:3-4. Selfishness and pride are literally the roots of all sin so stay as far away from them as you can. The Bible says to treat others the way you want to be treated. It also says the power of life and death are in the tongue so make sure you speak life because it WILL mean spiritual life or death. Do you trust God? If you aren’t trusting God, feelings of anxiety will overtake you in a heartbeat when anything hard comes your way. You won’t be able to be blessed like God wants you to until you trust Him with everything including tithing. Are you cheating God and won’t trust Him with 10% of your income? Tithing was hard for me but I did it and God has been faithful to bless my husband and me financially. Honestly, trust is still something I still struggle with from time to time. I have learned to choose every day to trust Him and His plans for my life.

A Prayer For You

Lord search me and know my heart. Show me anything that displeases You that I have in my life. Forgive me for my sins and give me a fresh start. Please keep me from temptation and deliver me from evil. Give me discernment and wisdom so that I won’t make compromises that lead to sinning against You. I ask that everything I say and do would point others to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.