Roadblocks:
Missed Targets
#36 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person
with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father
In the "Can You
Hear Me Now?" series of blogs, I talked about how to make sure you have a
strong line of communication with the Father.
Nevertheless, even when we have a good
line, there can be things that
block our ability to hear. Virtually
all of these except one fall under the general heading of “sin,” Let’s look at some scripture about this
general topic; then we can explore more specifics later.
“But your iniquities have
separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that
he will not hear.”
Isaiah 59:2 NIV
“Therefore do not let sin reign
in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of
yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to
God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of
yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Don’t you know that when you
offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you
obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience,
which leads to righteousness?”
Romans 6:12-13,
16 NIV
Even
when we have dedicated our lives to the Lord, there are times when we “miss the
mark”…which is the literal meaning of the word "sin." When it remains unconfessed and unrepented
of, it can interfere with our ability to hear from the Father through the Holy
Spirit.
“See to it, brothers and
sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from
the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
“Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV
Thank
God the fix for this is simple (though not always easy).
“If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 NIV
Why is
it not easy? The main reason is that
confessing requires humility and repenting requires change.
“In the same way, you who are
younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with
humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to
the humble.””
1 Peter 5:5 NIV
“Therefore confess your sins to
each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16 NIV
“Then I acknowledged my sin to
you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions
to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
Psalm 32:5 NIV
If you
are having trouble hearing from God, ask the Holy Spirit if there is an area in
you life that is an unconfessed sin.
“Do not love the world or
anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in
them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world
and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NIV
Be
obedient to what you hear. Confess and
repent and commit to making a change with the help of the Holy Spirit. Then with King David you will be able to
declare:
“Come and hear, all you who fear
God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would
not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.”
Psalm 66:16-19 NIV
Whole
libraries have been written on the subject of sin. You can get revelation on your personal
situation from the Holy Spirit. Let him
speak to you about your status and what you are to do. Ask God…
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out
my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
Psalm 51:1-2 NIV
Then you
will be able to meet with God with clean hands and a pure heart.
“Who may ascend the mountain of
the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a
pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”
Psalm 24:3-4 NIV
Clearing
up the roadblock of sin, is a giant step to intimate conversations with the
extraordinary God of the universe and the superhighway to freedom for your
mustang heart!
P.S. If
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Teri