This week I’ve been hearing about a worker who is making many mistakes but does not seem to realize it. He is putting others and himself in trouble because he cannot discern his own errors.
This lack of discernment is also a problem in living a
life of faith. Sin is subtle. I can think that I am trusting God when actually I
am trusting myself or my own judgment. I can think I am innocent but if I examine
my heart, I might find hidden selfish motives.
Israel’s King David struggled with the same problems. While
God called him “a man after my own heart,” David was like any other person of
faith. He had that old self that would interfere with godly living, sometimes
in sneaky and subversive ways. When David realized the threat of his own
sinfulness, he took the only action that works; he took the problems to his Savior…
Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:12–14)
These verses are key to living out the faith that God puts
in. Instead of trying to understand what needs fixing in my life, I must rely
on God to show me those sins that I fail to discern. He can do it, but not only
that, He can keep me from being ruled by my sinful nature. I just need to be
willing to let Him have dominion in my heart.
Most of the time, my problems begin with what I call stinkin’
thinkin’ in that I have a bad attitude about someone or something. I’ve learned
that I cannot excuse what I think because there are no actions attached. Even if
the sin is only in my head, it will eventually find its way out of my heart and
into my life if I don’t deal with it at the heart level. Yet trying to push
sinful thoughts away is like that old game when told, “Don’t think about a red
apple.” As soon as the suggestion is made, that red apple image will not go
away.
When temptation comes as a sinful thought, I’ve never
been able to push it aside without help either. David’s prayer asking God to
make words and thoughts acceptable is the only action that works. Instead of being
ruled by any awful thought, God can replace it with something acceptable.
When thinking is right, I’m less apt to speak or act
in a sinful way. However, sometimes hidden faults pop up into words or deeds
when no thoughts seem to precede them. Again, the only action that works is
asking God to deal with those hidden issues. He does. Sometimes He reveals them
in dreams or during Bible study. If that happens, I need to confess the sin and
rethink whatever He showed me in a biblical attitude. Then these hidden things can
fade away and not ambush me again. This usually is a painful process, but the freedom
gained is worth it.
Living out faith in public requires spending time in
private with God — going over those inner motivations with Him. Whether they
are rooted in childhood memories or adult resentments and other negative
attitudes, it is the desire of God that I am blameless and acceptable before
Him.
God, I thank You that You know everything about me and
that You want me to be pure and innocent. Free me from those hang-ups that hold
me in sinful patterns of thoughts, words and deeds. May whatever I do be
acceptable to You as I live out the faith that You have put into my life.
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