How To Adjust Your Priorities # 4
While this particular study has a number four attached to it, this series is not about following steps. Today’s study could easily be the first thing an individual has to tackle before getting their life back on track God’s way.
How To Adjust Your Priorities # 4
IDENTIFY THE COBWEBS
Have you ever sat down on the couch to relax or maybe went outside on your porch only to look up in the corner and see a cobweb. Don’t get me started on actually seeing a spider. That’s another whole topic. Right now, the cobwebs is where my analogy for this week is going.
Spiders have been gifted with spinning something so thin and intricate, you can’t see it. Boy, do you feel it? Have you ever walked outside into a cobweb? Auughhh! The remnants of the web lingers on your skin or clothes until you can entangle yourself from it. Even after removal, the effects of the experience leaves you paranoid. Now your thinking, where is the spider? Okay enough of this talk about spiders.
The point. Cobwebs are made to catch their prey and they work very well.
In our lives there’s something that works in a similar way. At first glance you might not recognize it because it subtly makes its presence known. Often times if you are not careful, you will walk right into it and get ensnared. The effects leave you feeling just as freaked out as a cobweb across your skin. The culprit’s name.
Sin.
Yep, this is an uh-oh lesson today.
Follow the exercise below and then let’s compare.
(1) Pray for understanding from the Holy Spirit.
(2) Read Psalm 51 & 32. (I will be using the NIV translation, but feel free to use the translation you are comfortable reading.)
(3) Mark in your bible (or record in a notebook) any part of these two psalms that speak to you. The main theme is repentance.
(4) Is there something you need to confess to God? Don’t hesitate. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
After you have finished the exercise feel free to continue. I invite you to include your thoughts or revelations in the comments section of this post.
Ty’s Notes:
It’s thought by most bible scholars that Psalm 32 and 51 were written by King David. These psalms were responses to serious consequences resulting from David not sticking with his priorities. Yes, the man after God’s own heart became ensnared by sin. He was human. King David had grown older by the time recorded in 2 Samuel 11. It’s quite possible the day he chose to rest from battle made sense. But what happened next, didn’t make much sense?
Priorities Gone Haywire!
King David was key player in the design of the palace and the city of Jerusalem. There was no way he didn’t have a clue about the bathing scene that occurred on the rooftop. It was probably a well-known routine and King David certainly didn’t have to inquired about the beautiful woman. After finding out her name, he proceeded to send for this married woman despite the fact he already had wives (and probably concubines).
For those that don’t know the story (read 2 Samuel 11-12), King David committed adultery, impregnated Bathsheba, failed a cover-up with her husband, Uriah and then set-up the man to be murdered on the front lines. David remained quiet about his sin for a full year.
The Consequences
Something happens to you when you decide to keep quiet. The effects of the sin begin to become a burden.
Psalm 32:3-4 – When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
This burden could have been avoided if David turning his eyes away from the temptation. There’s nothing we can do about temptation. The enemy will gladly introduce things that tempt our fleshly desires. He tried with Jesus during the wilderness experience. It’s when we succumb to temptation and sin, we are right where the enemy would like to see us.
Caught in his web.
It took a full year before David was confronted by Nathan the prophet. God knew just the type of parable David needed to hear – one involving a sheep similar to the ones he took care of during his younger days.
Psalm 51:1-4 – Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Despite the loss of the child from his union with Bathsheba, there were still consequences to follow. After repentance, David still had to deal with some other issues in his household. He was a great warrior, but not a very good parent as one drama after another unfolds between his sons. Still, God promised him that his descendants would always reign on the throne and even allowed David to make plans to build a permanent place for God, replacing the tent of meeting (Tabernacle) with a Temple.
Restoration with God
Psalm 32:8-9 – I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Before his death, David anointed his son Solomon as king . It’s extraordinary how God works. The second child between King David and Bathsheba would become the wisest man in the world during his reign. Even when we mess up, God will pull something good from our messes, reminding us that He indeed is in control.
We only have to follow his instructions and let God teach us the way we should go through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Examining Your Priorities
Now by this time you may be thinking what does all this have to do with priorities.
- When you examine some of the items you have prioritized did you say “yes” to something God asked you to say “no?”
- Did you consult with the Lord prior to taking on this activity?
- Did your eyes linger to long on a tempting proposal and you got caught up in the prestige or even the extra money it would offer?
If you look further into scripture about David’s failure as a father, can’t you see that same scenario being played out today in 2008. Parents still get caught up in chosen priorities that often forsake quality time with their children.
When we disobey and pursue activities outside of God’s will, we are guilty of sin. Our burdens and stresses have come as a result of becoming ensnared in activities outside His perfect will for us. In some cases you can label this sin as idolatry.
We placed something in a higher priority over God.
The burden of idolatry (sin) will keep us from listening to God like David did for a full year – only feeling farther and farther away from him.
If you need that pressure removed right now, pray and ask God to forgive you. He’s faithful to clean us up and set us back on the right track.
Father,
My priorities have been out of sync with Your will for my life for some time now. The burden of my choices have become far too heavy for me. Let me hear joy and gladness again. Create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Instead of being swayed by the world’s standards, I need your Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
