GENESIS 6:5-7 – The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
THEME OF THE DAY: BREAKING THE HEART OF GOD. Ponder today’s scripture with a focus on the words “regretted” and “grieved” as they relate to the heart of the Lord. Now link these intense emotions of sorrow the Lord is expressing to the cause – And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
God regretted creating His choice creation – man. Why? Man had forfeited his privileged position of reflecting the glory of his God and Creator. Man also sacrificed his privileged practice of walking with, or fellowshipping with his God and Creator. The reason, the sad reason, was sin. He chose to disobey his God which is defined as sin – an act of rebellion against the rightful authority of his God and Creator. And oh, the pain to the heart of God! Yet, this is not just an event from ancient history having no relevancy for us in the 21st century.
Since Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, every person has been guilty of breaking the heart of God by breaking His law. The Apostle Paul would tell us no one is without exception – all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This means all of us have grieved the heart of God by our sin but let’s apply this in our lives as God’s children.
When temptation comes to us whether seeking to fulfill a sinful passion of flesh, sins of the tongue, attitude, or conduct, stop and remember two things. First, the sin we are about to commit is not against us, or even other people primarily. It is against our good, loving, and holy God. He is the One offended. David acknowledges this truth in his familiar Psalm of repentance – Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment (Psalm 51:4).
The second thing to remember to defeat temptation and avoid sin is to remember that we are not only breaking the law of God but the heart of God. It is about love, about affection, about relationship. We don’t want to sin out of fear of consequences but out of love for God. What child of God really wants to break our Great Redeemer’s heart? Thinking this way goes a long way to winning over temptation on a consistent basis.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to see sin is not only against Your law but Your love.”
QUOTE: “When tempted to sin, stop and understand we break the heart of God if we do.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim