"The Approach"

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Psalms 51:1) Possibly the hardest thing to understand about the relationship that God and David had, was that everything was understood. I know that might not make much sense, but you have got to understand something about David, in that he understood that God understood him; therefore David could approach God based upon the fact that He was totally aware of everything about David, and that there was nothing David could say that God did not already know, neither was there anything David could not say that was secret from God's knowing. Additionally, God was always very upfront with David, and David understood the heart of God; more than that, David understood God's heart towards him, the whole him! What makes us hold back from our approach to God is that we feel dirty and unworthy to approach Him, when in reality, there is nothing that we can do to undo our dirty feeling until we actually make ourselves approach God. I say make ourselves because it is not a casual approach, but it is one of complete humility and surrender; we need to prepare our hearts in order to enter in, which means we need to have the proper understanding. Notice the attitude of David's plea: there are no excuses or any hint of blame being put on anyone else; it is all about two very important things: our wickedness and God's mercy; that's it, I am guilty and God is merciful!!! The most important part of that equation is the mercy of God, because His mercy far out-performs my wickedness; as a matter of fact, God's mercy is far more abundant than my wickedness could ever be, but it is dependent upon my surrender; which is another thing that David understood about God, that God was there to receive him when he surrendered. How we miss that point so often, as we hold back from surrendering everything to God for fear of falling, or for fear of what will happen next; when the most important part about a surrender to God is that we put all of our trust in Him, especially the part about dealing with our transgressions. Transgressions are not just sins, they are willful disobedience; the sign says stop, but you go anyway; God's word says don't, but you do it because you want to do it anyway. Sin is falling short, as in, missing the mark; in other words, I cannot do what I should do because I am not able to do it, because I lack what it takes to hit to be perfect; which is far less offensive to God than doing what I should not do just because I want to do it. Is that understood?
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my voice. For Thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of Thy sight; yet I will look again toward Thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast Thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came unto Thee, into Thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land." (Jonah 1:17-2:10)