Quit Looking Around

The eye is a gateway to the soul. Meaning, what you watch and keep your eyes on is what you will eventually begin to desire. I wouldn’t want to have what he/she has if I never even seen what they had. The eye is powerful. We all see certain things, but what you look at will either lift you up or destroy you! Contradiction? No. To see something is simply to perceive it, to notice something that presents itself in front of you. To look at something is to set your gaze on it, you are intentionally directing your eyes in it’s direction.

David was a king, but kings were still called to go out to war with their troops. However, the bible says David tarried back in Jerusalem (STRIKE 1). David then went walking in the evening on the roof of his palace and saw Bathsheba showering, then he noticed that she was beautiful (STRIKE 2). David asked about the woman and he was told that she was married, but he still sent for her (STRIKE 3). Now let’s go over these three strikes and you tell me if this isn’t still an issue to address.

1. David was not in position!

When you aren’t where God wants you, you are exactly where the devil wants you! It doesn’t matter if you aren’t “in sin”, but as long as you don’t go where God sends you, you’re wrong. Jonah was sent to Nineveh and went to Tarshish, God had to send a storm and a whale to swallow him. You see, there is nothing good happening when we aren’t doing what the King says to do. Many of are way too “grown” that not even God can tell us what to do. We go where we want, when we want, dress how we want and only if it’s convenient for our schedule that day. Before God made any of us, He knew every step we will make. So even though God’s plan was for David to be out at war, David didn’t do it and ended up committing adultery, making a baby and having a man murdered. All of that just because he didn’t decide to go. I’m grateful for mercy, because God could’ve cut David, or you and I, off the many times we’ve done similar things.

2. David was looking where he shouldn’t be looking!

I cannot say I’ve been to David’s house, so I will not say David always had a view of women showering, but the bible does show that David was looking intently. Maybe there weren’t overhead showers as we see today, but regardless we know the woman was showering with some form of water and she was naked (common sense). You cannot see someone’s beauty when they are in/under water. At some point she’s washing her face and other areas, which means he had to stare for quite a bit to be captivated by her curves and how looks after he spotted her. So it wasn’t a sin that he saw a naked woman, it became a sin when he decided to stare and desire her (Matthew 5:28). We have to understand, we will see sinful things daily, but we have the power over what we stop and focus on. You can unfollow that account, you can leave that area, you can block that number. Staying shows interest. It’s not easy, but sin is so accessible that it’s like you run from one thing to the next. However, you must guard your eyes in order to protect the anointing inside of you. 

3. David was warned!

David knew she was married and still had men bring her to him. Many bash Bathsheba, as if it was her intention to shower in front of men. The fact remains that David was the king, she had no choice but to go to him or risk her life. If you would’ve ignored the guards and be killed, I respect you, but let’s not allow a sin issue to cause us to point fingers at her. Just like David, we are all warned before we commit sin. If you have the Holy Ghost, there is no way God will make you feel comfortable out of His will. He will bother your conscience. Stop ignoring warning signs and the obvious truth because of your emotions. God forgives, but that is no excuse to disobey. God forgives, but you will have consequences for your actions. “I’m sorry, God. It won’t happen again” doesn’t turn away an STD, pregnancy, bitter bf/gf, a ruined testimony and a soul you may never lead to Christ after, etc. Don’t ignore the signs because you’re lonely.

Many of us like to play the blame game. I wouldn’t lust if they were wearing more clothing, but you don’t have to look. You can see something wrong/lustful and turn your head, but to look for it, search it, follow it on social media, etc. is proving you have the issue that needs to be dealt with. Don’t let your eyes get hooked on the devils bait. What you look at will destroy you if it will distract you from God’s will. Lusting after someone? It isn’t that you have an issue, God gave us all sex drives and the desire to want someone. The problem rises when you let your desire for something godly come out in the wrong context. So now instead of desiring sex in marriage, you find yourself filling your heart and mind with sexual gratification out of His will (pornography, masturbation, sending/receiving lustful messages/pictures).

Understand this, the devil cannot make you do anything. The enemy will only offer you what you desire and its up to you to decide whether to obey him or God. If I like short, he won’t send tall because he knows I’ll ignore it. Be careful of the desires you have in your heart because if you keep feeding yourself garbage your life will eventually begin to produce that. David may not have had a “lust” issue prior to that, but because he was not where he should have been and started looking where he shouldn’t have been looking, he fell. The one man in the bible considered to be after God’s heart committed adultery and purposefully had her husband killed, you can fall as well. Samson could be considered arrogant or foolish, but he was called by God. Your calling doesn’t make you invincible, you have to learn to put your feelings aside in order to be who you were called to be. The strongest man on the earth fell into sexual sin, you can too. Solomon was considered the wisest man to ever live, and still couldn’t get enough women in his life. If he had more wisdom than anyone may ever have, what makes me think I can’t stumble and lose sight of God?

Unless you’re focused on Jesus, you will (not maybe) drift away spiritually. It is our nature to sin, we must intentionally set our eyes on Jesus. Choose today to stop following pornography via social media. Call it as it is. If they are half naked, you don’t need to feed your spirit with it. You may know them, but that doesn’t mean you should allow social media to cause you to forget what God’s Word says: be holy (1 Peter 1:16), flee youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22), or set your affections on things above (Colossians 3:2).

No, I don’t live a perfect life….but that will not be an excuse to abuse grace. Guard your spirit, don’t allow your eyes to be sidetracked by things of this world. Peter walked on water when he was looking at Jesus, but began to drown when he looked at the storm. So many are drowning in sin right now because they stopped looking at God and started looking for spouses. How can we find love without God who is Love? Turn back to Him, don’t be enticed by their looks or words. Who God has for you will do more than say the right words, they will be following His Word! Quit looking around, you will die out of God’s will aiming for something that can only be found in Him. 

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalms 16:8)