Close The Door

By Julian Newman
        

"Then God spoke to Samuel: “I’m sorry I ever made Saul king. He’s turned his back on me. He refuses to do what I tell him” 
(1 Sam. 15:11). The real reason why Saul disobeyed the commands of God and eventually lost God’s favor is simple: He didn’t see the little things as BIG things.

He thought a little disobedience wasn’t really that big of a deal. In his mind as long as he meant well despite not doing well, everything would be okay. What he failed to realize is that ‘little’ disobedience opens the door for big darkness. Every tragic thing that happened in Saul’s life happened as a result of this ‘little’ disobedience.

Disobedience opens the door to the Devil’s influence to our life, our family and future. Though our heart’s door may be just slightly ajar, willful resistance to God’s influence blocks us from hearing, sensing and responding to Him. It makes us insensitive to what is wrong, and leads us down a path that isn’t right.

Everyday, good/well-meaning Christians become entangled in situations/relationships/circumstances that are miles outside of God’s purpose. These folks never intended to stray so far. They just meant to take a small detour. But what seemed like such a little thing, gained momentum and became extremely big.

Some went so far, they never made it back. Like Saul, they lost everything.

Some by the mercy of God did make it back bearing scars, and lived to tell the story.

Ironically the man that became King because of Saul’s disobedience, got into big trouble himself. But after his sin was boldly confronted by a friend, he repented to God, and courageously lived with the consequences of his mistakes.

These are his words (from Psalm 51: 1-15 THE MESSAGE):

“Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt, 
soak out my sins in your laundry. 
I know how bad I’ve been;
 my sins are staring me down. You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen 
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you; 
whatever you decide about me is fair. 
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, 
in the wrong since before I was born.
 What you’re after is truth from the inside out. 
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
 scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, 
set these once-broken bones to dancing. 
Don’t look too close for blemishes, 
give me a clean bill of health.
 God, make a fresh start in me, 
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.”

King David prayed to God, appealed to God’s mercy, and lived with the consequences of his mistakes.

It wasn’t easy, but God graciously gave him another chance. The bad news was he lost his way, but the good news is he responded to God and was given great mercy.

The even better news is that if you are reading this (and are in big trouble because of a little disobedience), God is reaching out to you. He is waiting for you. He is longing to restore your life, and renew a right heart in you.

The even better than better news is: He is just a prayer away.

Scripture Of The Day: "God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life." - Psalm 51:10 (MESSAGE)

Julian Newman is a husband, father, writer, artist and storyteller who serves as Lead Pastor of Renaissance Church in the greater Sacramento region. He has passion for creativity, innovation, leadership, outreach and evangelism, mentoring, the arts, reading and teaching the bible. Find him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/JulianNewman…