The Path To Renewal &
Restoration
(Written by Kevin A. Hall)
What do you
do when you have hit rock bottom? What steps does a person need to take in
order to be restored to God? At some point you will eventually need to cross
this bridge, as I have. I have a Tshirt from my trip
down that path with safe return, thank God. I thought about the Psalmist David
and found in his writings a guide for such a trip. If you spend time reading
his letters of praise and/or reflection, you can sense his passion. My thoughts
go back to a time of David's greatest pain – running away from his own son
(Psalm 27). Yet again, we see him in reflection after his failure with
Bathsheba.
What do I do to get back in good grace with God? What of my
spiritual state after falling so badly? Psalm 51 is a surrounding text in which
David describes his experience in greater detail. Do you remember the details
of David's failure? He took another man's wife, covered up the affair, she became
pregnant, David frames the husband, the husband dies as a result. Some time
after, God seeks out David with a confrontation by the man of God:
The Path to Renewal and Restoration -
Psalm 51
o Call
out to God for forgiveness - In verses 1 – 2 David asks God to have
mercy on him and wash away his sin. He calls on God after being called out on
his sin because he knew and recognized God’s character of love and compassion.
This is revealed during the time of Moses in Exodus 34:6 – “The Lord, the Lord,
the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin.”
o Don’t
minimize your sins. In verses 3 – 5 David encourages us not to hide or
cover up our actions. While our sinfulness affects others, we are really
sinning against God.
o Get
back into fellowship with God – In verses 6 – 12 he expresses the
contrast between being in fellowship and out of fellowship. He longs for the
joy of fellowship:
“Let me
hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice” (51:8)
“Restore
to me the joy of your salvation” (51:12)
Spend time
with God and the people of God.
o Pray
for a Pure Heart.
“David had
been a slave to lust, drunk with power and stained by murder.” How does such a
person get back into fellowship with God? David knew God’s nature so he prayed
“Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within
me” (51:10), and he goes on.. “and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
(51:12)
We know
that God is in the Forgiveness and Restoration business. Guess what? He is
also in the Heart Purification Business - The blood of Jesus cleanses us from
all sin (1 John 1:7). The following is a helpful guide along the path to
Renewal and Restoration:
Practical Steps to
Dealing with Sin
Understand
that all believers face the same challenge – the problem of sin in their lives.
We all sin and are prone to fall into sin. Scripture is clear - “If we say that
we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John
1:18) That being said, when we sin, Christ is our advocate. He has already paid
the price for our sin (1 John 2:2)
Falling into sin may not happen
immediately – Do not
allow compromises to take permanent residence in your life. Eliminate
Compromises!
Watch out for Indulgences – You are never too big, too
powerful, too spiritual, too good to fail. You cannot keep on feeding the flesh
expecting to reap spiritual fruits. The Apostle Paul encourages us to dwell on
whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good reputation
(Philippians 4:8) Examine what you are consuming – books, movies, television,
conversations, magazines, media. Replace harmful indulgences with wholesome
material. Spend time in the company of like-minded believers; in prayer and
reading the Word of God.
Do not evade your responsibilities - The enemy takes pleasure in isolating the
children of God. If you find yourself neglecting responsibilities, this is
often the first step to spiritual decline. “God has a plan for our lives. He
has laid certain responsibilities upon us, and when we avoid them with excuses
or rationalizations, we open a Pandora’s box of assorted temptations that
weaken our will to walk with God”.
If you sin, know that it brings
unhappy consequences that God may not see fit to eliminate- The effects of your sin may be far reaching
and long lasting. David repented and was forgiven, but the consequences of his
sin reached his family and the latter half of his life/ministry. Consider this!
You are not alone in this!
Don’t feel ashamed to ask for help. You may not be able to handle this
one on your own. It’s good to have an accountability partner who will keep you
in check. You may have to confess to the person you wronged. This is a good
step towards receiving forgiveness.
If you commit sinful acts, then confess the sin and receive
forgiveness through the death of Christ. God can renew anyone and wants to
restore any relationship that has been damages by the effects of sin. Remember,
He is in the business of Restoring and Forgiving.
True Confession involves a commitment not to
continue in sin. This takes effort. Pray for strength to defeat the temptation
the next time. Don’t live in your sin. God is faithful and righteous to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
I pray this
helps you down the path to restoration. Blessings!
References:
Charles Swindoll, David – A Man of Passion and Destiny
(Dallas, Texas: Word Publishing, 1997)
Life Application Study Bible (Zondervan, 2000), 2094
Richard L. Strauss. “Caught in the Tempter’s Trap – The
Story of David and Bathsheba”
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson.
The Jesus Walk Bible Study Series. “Psalms: Finding Forgiveness and
Restoration.”
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