| Premeditated Obedience |
by David A. DePra |
| King David is known for being a man after God's own heart. |
| But one can hardly think through his life without recalling his |
| infamous sin with Bathsheba. David's memory seems a bit |
| stamped with that sin. Sometimes we forget that he tried to |
| cover it up by seeing to it that her husband, Uriah, was killed in |
| battle. And then there were the years of consequences David |
| had to endure as the result of his actions, including the death of |
| the baby which was born out of his sin. |
| Still, David emerges as one of God's greatest instruments. He |
| wrote many Psalms. And his overall attitude of obedience to God |
| had lasting effects upon Israel. Yet, we must ask, why did David |
| give into the temptation regarding Bathsheba? How could he have |
| let this happen? |
| David gave into that temptation because, in his heart, he had |
| not settled certain issues. Regarding Bathsheba, David had |
| apparently never settled the question as to what he would do if he |
| were tempted to commit adultery. Thus, it was still an open issue |
| in his heart the night he gave into temptation. He was overcome |
| with his sin, and payed a great price for it. |
| There was something David could have done BEFORE the |
| night of his temptation and sin. If he would have been practicing |
| it, he would have been prepared for the suggestions of his flesh, |
| and could have overcome them. It might be called |
| "premeditated obedience." |
| "Premeditated obedience" is a moral choice I make to |
| obey God IF I find myself in a particular situation. In other words, |
| it is a choice I make ahead of time to obey God. I get various |
| issues and possibilities settled NOW, in the event that I find |
| myself confronted with them in the future. I make a premeditated |
| choice to obey God and then carry out that obedience if such |
| temptations ever come my way. |
| Had David practiced premeditated obedience he would have |
| had the issue of adultery settled before the night of his sin |
| arrived. There would have been no place for the temptation to |
| approach him. So it is with us -- on any number of possible |
| issues. We can decide NOW to obey, if we ever find ourselves |
| in a given situation. |
| This is not psychology, or mental gymnastics. It is a matter |
| of facing possibilities in God, and making moral choices about |
| them. Actually, if the Holy Spirit is in me, He is going to |
| bring my attention to these possibilities all the time. God will |
| give me to opportunity, as it were, to "judge myself" regarding |
| the sin which is already in my heart, so that I will not later |
| allow it to motivate me to action. This will save me much |
| in the way of consequences for sin in this life. |
| Sin is always the result of some temptation drawing forth from |
| us what is already in our heart. But the Holy Spirit also wants to |
| expose that sin, so that we can surrender it to God. This starts |
| by embracing the Cross, and the grace of God in Christ Jesus. |
| But we must then follow up our faith with works. Premeditated |
| obedience makes it easier to do this. I can decide ahead of |
| time that I am going to obey God. Perhaps God will even give |
| me ideas as to HOW to obey Him. |
| Premeditated obedience should be a natural part of our |
| walk with Jesus Christ. It should be something we practice, |
| whether we call it by that name or not. And we have the greatest |
| power in all creation to help us do it: The Holy Spirit. |