Psalm 18:23 – I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

God declared David to be a man after His own heart, a man who desired to please God above his own desires and cravings. Did David sin? Of course he did. He was human just like we all are. David’s heart wandered, but that does not remove the fact that he was a man after God’s own heart. This week’s verse was not a declaration of sinless perfection on David’s part. In fact, the year or so before the death of King Saul, he spent some significant measure of time in spiritual and moral compromise. Yet through it all David kept a core of integrity towards God. He was willing to be corrected despite his failings, and most importantly did not fail in his greatest test, in that he refused to gain the throne by killing Saul. No one is completely innocent before God, but God enables you to pursue godliness in your life. You, who are in Christ, stand before God as blameless because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. You have the power within you to keep yourself from committing sin. Like David, you can say “I kept myself from my iniquity.” You know what easily tempts you. It is not a surprise to you. You must make every effort to keep yourself from sin.

Challenge:

Are you a person who is after God’s heart? Do you desire to please the Lord in all you do? I would venture to guess your answer is “Yes I do want to honor the Lord!” Your challenge this week comes from the book of Job 1:22 “In all this Job did not sin…” Job had just lost all that he had. He was a wealthy man and had a lot to lose. He lost all his oxen, all his donkeys, all his sheep, all his camels, all his servants and all his children in one single day! Job had a bad day, wouldn’t you agree? He had every reason to complain and every reason to be upset. Yet the bible says he worshiped God and did not sin. Job is a great example of how circumstances should never dictate your relationship with God. The enemy wants to catch you off guard and throw you off balance so you will fail to resist sin. This week, do not allow the enemy to trip you up. Repeat these words to yourself like David did, “I will keep myself from my iniquity” and like Job did, “In all that happens I will not sin.” The Lord will strengthen you and give you the power to overcome any and every temptation. God bless you.