“And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.” -2 Samuel 24:10

There are four words in the verse above that stick out and speak volumes of David’s character: David’s heart smote him. That is to say, his heart struck him—presumably with guilt—at what he had done. David was by no means perfect, but what he did after his mistakes was crucial: he admitted that he was wrong.

The verse above came after David had sought to number all the population of Israel: a thing that the Lord detested, as He had promised to David that He would make Israel abundant and increase them beyond numbering. But this wasn’t the first time we see an instance of David’s admittance of guilt. Much earlier in his life, before he was officially made king, we see the very same reaction from him:

“And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.” -1 Samuel 24:5

Again, there was the phrase, “David’s heart smote him.” And this phrase illustrates well what our own attitude toward sin ought to be. As David was, so too ought we to be struck with guilt. Our hearts ought to be so sensitive to offending God, that we react with much disgust and guilt at our own wickedness. We ought not to harden our hearts, nor seek to hide our sins: as if God cannot see what we’ve done. As the apostle Paul succinctly puts it: “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” -Proverbs 28:13

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” -Psalm 41:1-2

Suppose someone came up to you and offered you a free pass. They told you that if you were ever to slip up with God or man—so that you could rightfully be punished or be made to suffer loss—that if you had this pass, no harm would come to you.

Would you take this pass?

You get what you give

All throughout life, we are put into hard or challenging circumstances, and we respond with anger or bitterness. Yet in looking at things from God’s perspective, He is only giving us opportunities to bless us. Some of life’s situations are brought from God as a means of blessing and growth, yet we fail to see the opportunity as such, and we instead get what we deserve: justice rather than mercy.

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” -James 2:13

The verses in Psalm 41 at the top of this page illustrate just one instance where we are given opportunities to get a free pass, and to grow, and be blessed by God. “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.”

How many times have we ever seen someone in need, and realized that we could satisfy this need very simply and with little sacrifice on our part: and we’ve still refused to help? Or how many times have we had a poor person approach us for some simple need, even the most meager of requests, and we’ve sent them away empty-handed? We are taking the free passes that God is trying to hand us, and we’re casting them to the ground and refusing them!

In many ways, the golden rule is truly golden: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is, if you were in their position, how would you want the other person to respond? Would you want to be ignored and forgotten? Would you want to be cursed or insulted?

And there is an additional twist to the golden rule: how you treat others is how God will treat you. Actions speak louder than words, and how you act toward others—and not what you say—is how God will act toward you. And this principle doesn’t only apply to the poor, but to many other facets of life.

Mercy:

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” -Matthew 5:7

Forgiveness:

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” -Matthew 18:35

Goodwill:

“The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” -Psalm 37:14-15

In all things, God is watching to see if the confession of our mouth matches the sincerity of our actions. He is truly wanting to bring blessing upon us: but if our lips have spoken deceit, then our actions will bring it to light. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).

As we come across trying or inconvenient circumstances, we ought to see them as gifts from God to bring about blessing and mercy in our own lives. As we minister justly to others, we are truly ministering directly to God Himself: what a blessing!

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” -Matthew 25:34-40

“What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.” -Job 13:2-4

One of the interesting things about the book of Job is how it illustrates so well the way that knowledge and understanding can be misapplied and misused.

In Job’s instance, he was being barraged with “good advice” and other counsel by his friends, and for the most part it was solid and godly wisdom, except for one small fact: it was the completely wrong place and time to share it.

It’s very much possible to be saying words that are 100% correct and still be 100% wrong. If the godly knowledge is not applied to the situation with wisdom, it can be easily misused.

To illustrate this point, let me play devil’s advocate in two situations in the Bible, using Scriptural references in an attempt to show just how easy it is to twist words around that ought not to be twisted.

Eve and the serpent

Recall when the serpent first tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He was trying to convince her to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Hypothetically, if Eve had had the entire canon of Scripture at her disposal back in the garden of Eden, perhaps the dialogue would have played out something like this:

Serpent: Has God really said that you shouldn’t eat of this tree?
Eve: Yes, He said that in the day that we eat it, we shall surely die.
S: You shall surely not die, but in the day that you eat of the fruit, you’ll be like gods, knowing good from evil.
E: But I ought to obey the commands of Him who created me.
S: But God is the one who also created this fruit, and it will be pleasant to eat, and it will taste good. For it is written, “at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
E: I suppose it is good for food, just like any of the other trees…
S: This food is a good thing, and God desires that you have good things. “[T]he LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
E: Now you’ve got me thinking…
S: Yes, dwell on this thought. Focus on eating this fruit in your mind. It is a good thing that you are pondering. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
E: The more I think about it, the more it seems to make perfect sense to eat of this fruit! I simply can’t see why God would ever want me to do otherwise.
S: Yes, of course He wants you to eat of this fruit. You are pure, and your thoughts and desires are good. There’s nothing wrong with it: you have good intentions. “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure” (Romans 14:20).
E: Agreed. I’ll go ahead and try it.

And so you can see how when we have our minds set on sin, when we are out to convince ourselves that what we’re doing is right, we’ll have no problem rationalizing it until it appears correct. Yet just as in Eve’s case, it was dead wrong! May we never use this line of thinking to justify our sins.

Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Does God always answer prayer exactly how we expect? No, not always in the way that we want, but in the way that God has planned for us. Yet the devil likes to cast doubt on our petitions.

Paul: “[T]here was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-8).
Satan: Paul, you’ve prayed about this physical pain three times now, and you still have no relief. What are you doing wrong?
P: I’ve always had a conscience that is void of offense toward both man and God.
S: Surely you must’ve done something wrong to deserve this, seeing as how God has allowed this pain to come into your life, and hasn’t even answered your prayers for healing either. Paul, you must be a nobody. God must’ve forsaken you for the multitude of your sins. For you yourself have said in 1 Timothy 1:15 that you are a chief sinner. Didn’t God say that the curse causeless shall not come? “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come” (Proverbs 26:2).
P: I’ll continue to pray until I get an answer from God.
S: Paul, you are falling headlong into sin, and you don’t even know it. Why else would God refuse to heal you? You have a promise found in the word of God to rest upon, and it will never fail. God has said, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:21-22). You can have whatsoever you ask: the only thing keeping you from being healed is your sin.
P: You may be right, but I’ve searched my conscience, and I can’t see the reason as to what could be hindering my prayers.
S: Search again, even deeper: surely you are in sin. It is written, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12).
P: I still can’t find anything to warrant this.
S: Remember when you were standing by and approved the death of Stephen? That was horrible, Paul. God is really giving you payback for that. Again, it is written, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). You are better off named Saul, and not Paul: for just as king Saul of old, God has forsaken you, and will not answer you by dreams, nor prophets.

It is easy to see how we can succumb to this sort of questionable and doubtful thinking. And yet all along, it was in God’s will for Paul to have his sickness remain in his body. For through it, he would learn a valuable lesson:

“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:8-10

“And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” -Romans 14:23

We all have them: actions and things that we do that don’t seem to sit well with us. Borderline things that we cannot discern to be good or bad. We can’t explain why we feel uneasy. Perhaps many other people, even Christians, are doing the very same things. Yet underneath it all, something just doesn’t seem right.

In light of the Bible verse above, we ought to attempt to reconcile our actions to our faith: and if we cannot, then we ought to forsake the activity in question. For the Bible is quite clear, that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” And in the context of the verse, this even includes things that are completely harmless to some, but to others it may be a stumbling-block.

We ought not to underestimate the advantage of a clear conscience. Are a few questionable activities worth the price of a clouded conscience? For the psalmist has said: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). And the apostle John enumerates this principle more clearly:

“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” -1 John 3:21-22

Welsh revivalist Evan Roberts listed this clarity and innocence of conscience as one of the four key conditions that is essential for revival. He said:

“Is there anything in your life that is doubtful—you cannot decide whether it is good or evil? Away with it! There must not be a trace of a cloud between you and God.” -Evan Roberts

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” -1 Corinthians 6:20

This is a foundational truth of the Bible: that we belong to God. Knowing and understanding this truth helps give us boldness to serve Him, and it gives us strength to forsake sin.

Do we possess our own bodies? Are we free to do with them whatsoever we please? If we belong to God, then the implications on how we ought to conduct our lives will trickle down into every crevice of our soul.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” -1 Peter 1:18-19

There is one that has a claim on our soul: and that is the man Christ Jesus. When we were lost and sold in sin—hopelessly indebted—God sent a savior to free us.

As the hymn states:

When I was sinking down,
beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown,
for my soul.

We were redeemed: that is to say, we were bought back. We were enslaved to sin, and Jesus paid the penalty for that sin, and set us free. As a result, we’re no longer under the cruel slavery of sin: but we do belong to God. We’re His property: and rightfully so, for He created us, and when we went into captivity, He rescued us with His own blood.

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” -Colossians 3:3-4

If we are “dead” (or at least, as good as dead without God’s help), then we ought to use every faculty of our being to show God our gratitude. If Christ has died for us, what thing is too big to give up for Him? What job is too demanding of us? The Bible says that serving God in every facet of our lives is simply considered our “reasonable service.”

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” -Romans 12:1-2

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” -Psalm 23:1-2

The twenty-third psalm is sometimes called the Shepherd’s Psalm. The psalm was written by David: and before he was crowned as king of Israel, he served his father as a shepherd: so if anyone knew about being a shepherd, and looking after sheep, it was David.

The first verse begins: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Now, when the King James version of the Bible uses the word “want,” it’s not quite what we think of as the word “want” today: it simply means to have a lack or a need. So David is writing that He lacks nothing, that he is full and complete.

That is to say, in the same way that a shepherd looks after his sheep, and makes sure that they are healthy and full, so too God looks after us: insomuch that we ought to say along with David: “I shall have no lack…”

David continues with the psalm, and writes a bit more specifically how he isn’t lacking in anything: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” That is to say, we have food and drink: for green pastures provide food for sheep, and the still waters quench their thirst.

A Shepherd and his Flock, Julien Dupre (1851-1910)

In so describing our fullness in God, David uses the illustration of food. He was saying in effect, “the Lord takes care of me so that I lack nothing: I have food and water to keep me satisfied.” And this is not only physically, but for our souls: it’s spiritual as well. God watches over us, and leads us on our path of life to just the things we need—and at the right time—to match our hunger and thirst.

Greener pastures?

They say “the grass is always greener on the other side.” This saying was meant to illustrate everyone’s tendency toward discontentment and impatience toward whatever area of life we’re currently in. If we leave the place that God would have for us: will we truly be satisfied? Are we then allowing God to be our shepherd?

David did not write, “I go where I want, and do what I please; I shall not want.” He prefaced his statement of satisfaction by a simple truth: “The LORD is my shepherd…”

God’s fullness and satisfaction are conditional. We have to trust Him for His best blessings. While we are wandering away from God’s will, we are in no way guaranteed God’s satisfaction or provision. He will search us out and try to bring us back into the fold, but how can we expect to see the shining light of His face with our backs turned to Him?

The promise is simple: walk according to God’s ways, and trust Him for our spiritual food and water, and He will never fail us. The Lord wants to be our shepherd, and it is in our best interest to recognize that we are like sheep, and we need His help.

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” -Psalm 84:11-12

“No flowery road leads to glory.” -Jean La Fontaine

Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the life of Jesus Christ. He came to Earth to die. His road was by no means flowery, and it resulted in an everlasting glory.

Could there be greater glory than that of Christ’s passion and resurrection? Perhaps two verses that Jesus spoke can answer, which have the most concentrated references to glory in the whole Bible:

“Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.” -John 13:31-32

And if it be so with Christ, so shall it be with our own lives. We ought not to see the difficulties and obstacles, but rather, the glory at the end of the path. If we are called by the name Christian, we must walk in Christ’s painful footsteps, and in so doing arrive at last at glory.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” -1 Peter 4:12-13