Listening Ears by David Jeremiah

Tuesday, August 22

Listening Ears 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
Psalm 51:10 

Recommended Reading Psalm 51

You have heard it said that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. While it may seem easier in the moment to rush past our conscience and better judgment, the consequences of that decision will have us wishing we had not.

When David was confronted about Bathsheba by the prophet Nathan, he came face to face with the weight and staggering consequences of his sin: broken trust, failed leadership and the death of two innocent people. David knew it would have been better if he had begun with a clean heart and steadfast spirit. Then he would have resisted temptation.

There is less need for God’s restoring grace when we live in His restraining grace. God provides restraining grace through His Word, our own conscience, and the wise counsel of His people. When we listen, we avoid the brokenness and disaster that comes from willful sin. God offers His grace to you today, whether you need restraining grace or restoring grace. He longs to give you the grace you need for today.

Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
A. W. Tozer