This is a very straight forward non-eloquent post. Maybe I will expand upon this at a later date…

It was one of those days I decided to be a hypocrite…The day before I had been talking about our relationship to God and how our response to his whispers dictate our walk with Him. The discussion was “How do we increase our recognition of God’s voice?” A simple explanation would be that we try to respond to everything we feel He is speaking to us (within the confines of Scripture). So the next day I am paying for my food at a sandwich shop and the lady behind the counter gets teary-eyed, obviously the Father was moving on her. The holy man that I am, I gave her an extra big tip and a smile since I was in a big hurry. As I walked out of the shop and climbed back in my truck the conversation with God went something like this, “You know I’m in a hurry, You know I barely have enough hours in my log book to finish the day, You know I’m tired…” I think you get the picture. Seven minutes later I was sorry, feeling regret and my conversation changed, “I’m sorry Father, I promise I love your Kids, I’m sorry I have failed, please give me another chance.” I know He forgives but I had a hard time shaking the missed God encounter.

Remember in the Old Testament when King David decided to stay home from his calling as a warrior then he invited Bathsheba up and slept with her. (2 Samuel 11) Between verses 4 and 5 there is about a two and a half month space, from conception to Bathsheba knowing for sure King David impregnated her. Then David confirmed his PHD in S.T.U.P.I.D and scared, he had her husband murdered in order to try and cover his tracks. When you try to cover sin with sin it just gets worse. 2 Samuel 11:27b “But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.” In 2 Samuel 12 God sends Nathan to open David’s eyes to his own sin…over a year after all this went down!!! David’s final response was repentance.

David grieved The Lord again in 1 Chronicles 21 when he takes a census to number the people. God afflicts Israel and David again repents.

My point in using these two Bible histories, King David was and is one of the most studied figures in the Bible due to his favor with God. We often overlook God’s grace upon him in the above circumstances. He was immoral, lied, and murdered yet had a repentant heart before God so God still used him. David went against many centuries of standards in Israel’s history when he numbered the people. When God confronted him, David repented and turned from his ways. God continued to bless King David because he was repentant.

If you repent, you change your mind and change your direction. Your mind changes about the sin you have been walking in and the joy of the sin becomes sorrow.  Your direction in life changes and you go from walking in opposition to walking in God’s blessing.

The next day after my busyness overcame my godliness I had another chance. A guard at an auction said he had hurt his back a few days before. He could only sit for about 20 mins and the pain became excruciating. I asked if I could pray for him. The guard being “born catholic”, not attending church or mass, said “yes, that would be cool.” As I prayed, God touched him with heat and healed his back to 80%. Over the next week he reported that he was 100% better.

“Nothing can Separate, Even when I run away…Your love never fails” (2010 Bethel Music)

Lust, immorality, murder, lying, and pride did not disqualify David due to his repentant heart. It had its ill effects. God restores the repentant.

I want to have a continually repentant heart.