So What's Next?

Every day we wake up to terrible news reports!

Headline after headline carries reports of terrible situations that fuel fear in the hearts of readers and its only January!

A 14yr old boy stabbed to death. The horrific rape gangs, our schools being earmarked for the dismantling of its successful structures, the wildfires in California as well as the continued wars, to name but a few of the situations we face day by day!

Our own personal situations and concerns. ‘Rome burns as Nero plays his fiddle’

Yet, we keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith and press on towards the goal! Giving thanks in all things!

We are in the kingdom for such a time as this, may we use our voices to declare the goodness of God, change the atmosphere in our sphere of influence and may our joy be so infectious to bring those in darkness into the light.

Let’s not miss today’s opportunity to remind and speak to our souls that God works all things together for our good and the good of those we pray for because we love him.

Rise and shine today and blind the enemy, by walking in God’s love and giving it away!

As I was considering what to write about, I felt the Holy Spirit spoke to me about distractions, how they can derail and, in some cases, prevent us from fulfilling our dreams and callings. He led me to this story in scripture to highlight how when distractions aren’t dealt with, there can be disastrous results.

“In the spring of the year when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. “Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

6Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Uriah replied, “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.”

“Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

David Arranges for Uriah’s Death

So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”

So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”

“Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time and conquer the city!”

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.” 2 Samuel 11NLT

The Holy Spirit reminded me of the time when I first became a Christian, I had an extensive music collection of LPs and 45’s (Yes, decades ago that was what they were called!) all in mint condition! An eclectic selection from the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, to Joan Bias, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and a whole range of other styles including opera.

As a young student, late at night, I would be with friends listening to Leonard Cohen, chocking on the smell of joss sticks (a thin stick consisting of a substance that burns slowly and with a fragrant smell, used as incense), as we put the world to rights with our idealistic ideas thinking we were so cool! Even now if I hear a particular Leonard Cohn song, I still feel its music to ‘commit suicide to!' (no offence to his followers) I never felt his music was uplifting! Thankfully I wasn’t into drugs, and I didn’t really like the taste of alcohol! I was too young to be a hippie, cow bells and school uniforms didn’t really go together! Without the Lord I think I would have become a Bohemian Artist type!

The Holy Spirit told me to destroy them all! I was taken aback a little, maybe I could sell them, or put them in the loft! No, I had to destroy them all!

They had become an unholy distraction to me.

I set about destroying them, smashing them with a hammer, my favourite double white Beatles album (I was so tempted to put that to one side). All was going well until I came to a particular album, I hit it with a hammer, and nothing happened! I tried several times, eventually I asked the Holy Spirit, ‘why wasn’t it breaking’. He said, ‘use Jesus’s name’. So, eventually I said, 'in the name of Jesus break', or something to that effect, and to my utter surprise it smashed into pieces! Up until that time I had no experience of anything demonic!

Next, he set about my collection of books, to my utter surprise the ones that had to go were the philosophy ones! (Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions.) Philosophy was a subject that I loved, but its influence was preventing me from renewing my mind to the things of God.

I am in no way suggesting that you should smash up your record or book library or anything else that you have, but I am suggesting that it’s worthwhile to ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything in your home that could be distracting you from developing your relationship and calling of God! For me it was imperative that those things were removed from my home. You may feel it was drastic or too farfetched to be true, but I know that my life changed for the better by being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit!

Distractions can open a door for the enemy. When we look at this story in scripture, we can see that David’s weakness was sex! Today you might say that he had an addiction to sex. Hundreds of wives and concubines (a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives, a mistress).

Here we find David, at the turn of the year, when Kings normally went out to war, instead of leading his men he stayed home

It’s the turn of the new year 2025, what would you normally be doing?

For what ever reason David was deviating from what he would normally do at the start of the year. There’s no mention of God giving him new instructions, it would appear that he allowed another voice to distract him and lead him into temptation. It’s imperative that we can distinguish the different voices that we hear, our own voice, the enemies voice and the voice of the Holy Spirit.

It was late one afternoon after a midday sleep that David went onto the roof and saw and watched a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath! She must have been close enough for him to clearly see her. I think that seeing her naked aroused him and instead of leaving the roof he continued to watch her which led him to. ‘He sent someone to find out who she was, Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her.’

Today we might suggest that David raped her! He clearly didn’t know who she was, he allowed his ‘lusts of the flesh’ to dictate his actions. David was called a man after Gods heart. How could he allow himself to be so distracted and totally unaware of the consequences that could follow such behaviour.

“Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it'” (Genesis 4:6-7).

Sin desires to own us, and our refusal to let God set the standard for right and wrong in our lives is the fast track to sin.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

James 4:7KGV

So, this is the first step in repentance, we submit God. Submission means we give ourselves, our lives, our plans, to God. We are saying to him, "I am wrong, you are right."

Sin had set a trap for David. Had he been in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing with the right people none of this would have happened!

I’m not sure if David gave any thought for the consequences of his actions, maybe he thought and reasoned, ‘I’m the king, I can do as I please, I’m answerable to no one.' In one sense that was true! Maybe he didn’t even think, he saw, he wanted, he took!

To me, his actions were totally selfish, did Bathsheba consent? Was she afraid to say no? How did she feel having ‘slept’ with David? ‘Then she returned home ‘. Summoned, used, then discarded! So often we want what we want when we want it! I want it and I want it now!

Content Whatever the Circumstances

‘I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.’ Philippians 4:11-13 MSG

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.’

Proverbs 3:5-6

‘ My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? ‘

Galatians 5:16-18 MSG

No doubt, David had moved on, Bathsheba was a pleasant memory, until! Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying,

“I’m pregnant.”

So began the plan of deception to cover his tracks, his unrepented sin opened the door for tragedy!

The bible has a lot to say about the heart!

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.

Who really knows how bad it is?” Jerimiah 17:9 NLT

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Often, we find it hard to acknowledge how wicked our thoughts and actions can be!

No doubt David thought that his plan was full proof, send for Bathsheba’s husband Uriah; to come home on leave, he’ll sleep with his wife and we can pass the baby off as his!

Just one problem, David hadn’t figured on Uriah’s integrity!

But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Uriah replied, “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.”

Why didn’t David come clean, after all he was the king! When a door is open to the enemy and fear enters, the enemy can fulfil the scriptures:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 NLT

Here we see a progression from adultery to deception to murder!

None of it was the fault of Bathsheba or her husband Uriah. This was on David not being where he was supposed to be!

Uriah’s fate was sealed as David arranged with the assistance of Joab to put Uriah in a position where he would be killed in battle, thus ‘reliving’ their conscious of guilt!

David could now inform Bathsheba that her husband had been killed in battle and after a period of mourning could marry Bathsheba and legitimise the baby.

“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.” 1Timothy 4:1-2 NLT

We can be so deceived and truly believe our own lies!

This story didn’t have a happy ending as the Lord was displeased with what David had done.”

David fasted and prayed that God would spare the child, but sadly he died.

God isn’t vindictive as scripture tells us:

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 NLT

Distractions can have dire consequences; they may not lead to physical death, but sin does lead to areas of spiritual death.

Thank God that he always gives us a way of escape! He never rights us off. David was the greatest King that Israel ever had, described as a man after God’s heart. David, always got to that place of acknowledging his sin, as you will discover as you read:

“Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin”.

2 Samuel 12:13

Distractions come in all forms, phones and the internet being a big one! I have discovered over the years that the times distractions have affected me the worst, have been in times of great disappointment and stress. I allowed myself to take my eyes of Jesus and have them on the situation that I was facing. I would retreat into photography and art projects and waste valuable time and emotion.

I thank the Holy Spirit that he never gave up on me and often bought the right people into my life at the very time that I needed them. Sometimes it would be a song, or a book or even a TV advert. Once it was a rebuke, It was supposed to be a soaking session and I was about to lie on the floor and have a pity party. Before I was even on the floor the Holy Spirit spoke and said ‘Stop it! You know better, get up and worship!’ His voice startled me but made me laugh as I replied, ‘Can’t I even have a moment!’ In that second, I had a choice to make, be the victim or become the victor! I chose to worship and left that meeting peaceful despite the circumstances not changing

It’s a new year, the old has gone! Or has it?

What season of your life are you in?

What is fighting for your attention?

What weakness of your character does the enemy have access too?

What changes can you make to prevent the distractions from controlling your life?

May each one of us desire and ask for the gift of discernment.

“And to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults],”

1 Corinthians 12:10 AMPC

Adam and Eve succumbed to that which was pleasing to the eye, they failed to discern which spirit was tempting them.

That can be you and me at times, but the good news is that like David we can acknowledge our wrong doings and receive his forgiveness and move forward into the plans and purposes that he has for us, with a clean slate!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jerimiah 29:11 NLT

"Every distraction of the enemy comes to get us to question what God has said, or to question who I am". Bill Johnson