Unguarded Strength

Beware: An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness!

When David was anointed king over Israel, we hear the Lord say that David was a man after His own heart. David's reign over Israel was triumphant. The Bible tells us that God gave him victory everywhere he went. Israel was prosperous and a true shining light among the other nations.

Even though God proclaims that David was a man after His own heart, we find a moment in David's life when his heart did not line up with God's. It is interesting to note that before David fell in sin with Bathsheba the Bible says "at a time when kings go to war...David stayed in Jerusalem." Does anyone know why he stayed? Could it be that David had become so confident of God's victory that he didn't see the need to go? Could it be that David had become lazy? Was it his age? Was he tired? The Bible doesn't give us a clear reason as to why David stayed at the palace; however, what happens next gives us some insight.

The story of David's sin is well known. We find him on the roof of the palace and he sees an attractive woman bathing. I will bullet point the rest:
- He calls for the woman
- He commits adultery
- Finds out later that she is pregnant
- He calls for her husband to come home
- The husband will not be with his wife out of respect for his fellow soldiers
- David gets him drunk and he still won't go home
- David plans for this man to be killed in battle
- The husband dies
- The woman is brought to David after her mourning
- They get married
- Nathan the prophet comes and exposes David's sin
- David confesses his sin and repents
- She loses the baby

I don't know about you but I read this story and say "How in the world did we get here?" The answer: At a time when kings go to war, David stayed in Jerusalem. Why did he stay? I believe he stayed because that wasn't his first time on the roof.

Peter tells us to be on guard because our adversary (the devil)roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Here is what each of us need to learn: our adversary has no power over us except what we give him. He's simply seeking whom he may devour. He cannot devour you if you don't let him. We must guard our hearts unless we, like David, find ourselves crying out to God for mercy. David allowed the lust of his flesh to cloud the judgment of his heart.

The only way that you and I can continue to guard our hearts is to walk in the grace of God. When we allow God's ability to be our strength, there is no temptation that can overtake us. It is when we drop our guard...become lazy in our devotion, slack in our prayer life, uncommitted in storing God's Word in our hearts, or we stop having fellowship with God's people; this is when the enemy strikes. And he will strike in the unguarded areas of our hearts. The Bible says that we are not foolish to the schemes of our enemy. We know how he works. However, we must guard our integrity.

Before we jump up to judge David and his actions we must look into our own lives. How many times have we fallen when we had the ability to walk in all that God would have us walk in? How many times has a bad attitude made its way back into our lives? How often has a bad habit showed back up on our doorstep? How many of us have found ourselves fighting the same battle that we thought we had won?

Aren't you glad that God loves us completely? He knows our frame. He knows our weakness. He knows our struggles. Even in all of that...He loves us. The point of guarding our hearts and minds is that we can continue to enjoy this relationship - that we never allow anything to come in that would cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. I imagine that the days following David's sin with Bathsheba and the death of her husband were some of the most empty days of his existence. Just think of the guilt and pain that he brought onto himself. Nine torturous months passed before Nathan shows up and exposes David's sin. Is it any wonder that David cries out "restore unto me the joy of Your salvation"?

You need to know that David's story did not end with his failure. In fact, God continued to be with him and continued to say that David followed him with all of his heart except in this one area. Oh, the mercy of God!!!

My prayer for each of us today is that we will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. He alone is able to keep us from stumbling. He is the one who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. May we walk in His grace.