Integrity of Heart

Scripture:

II. Samuel 11:11 "The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master's men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing".

Observation:

David had stayed home from battle and gotten into trouble with Uriah's wife Bathsheba. She was pregnant and David was trying to get them to sleep together so Uriah would think the baby was his. Uriah had such integrity of heart that he would not sleep at home with his wife while the battle was going on. He wouldn't accept wining and dining while some of his people were fighting for their lives.

Application:

Today, most of us would have said, "praise God, look how the Lord is blessing me. I get to go home and wine and dine and be with my wife". Uriah had a different spirit. He couldn't allow himself to be at ease while those he served with were in trouble. What we would call a blessing from the Lord, he wouldn't receive. We would do well to examine our integrity. Instead of receiving the easy way and thanking God for it, sometimes we would be better off taking the hard way.

Prayer:

Lord, let me be a man of integrity. Help me be a person who does the right thing when it feels good and when it doesn't. Help me not to see "the easy life" as God's blessing all the time, but to test the spirit to see if it is from God. It is so easy to receive the good and reject the bad, but I want to follow Your will for my life. Show me when to accept the blessings and when to turn them down. I want to be in step with Your Spirit.

love You,
Jeff