September 25
“For He said, ‘Surely, they are My people, sons who will not deal falsely.’ So He became their Savior. In all their afflictions He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them; And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, and He fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:8-10)
- Material losses, accidents happening, things breaking, problems springing up.
Another consequence of immoral behavior is that we invite monetary losses, accidents, and other problems when we sin. As was mentioned previously, I believe God removes His hand of protection when we choose sin, particularly sins of immorality.
Consider the verse quoted above. I have long been familiar with the verse in Ephesians where Paul says, “and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” (Ephesians 4:30), but until recently I was unaware of the verses in Isaiah that it surely was based on. Those verses tell us that when the Israelites grieved the Holy Spirit, He fought against them and became their enemy! The Holy Spirit doesn’t just feel bad when we grieve Him, He begins to work against us when we sin against Him. At least that is how I view those verses, and that is consistent with my personal experience.
I believe that when we are faithful to God and walk uprightly before Him, He paves the way for us. He keeps us from accidents, He keeps the stuff in our lives from breaking down and falling apart, He keeps us in good health, and He keeps “Murphy’s Law” at bay, so to speak. But when we deliberately sin against Him and put Him to the test with our sins, especially in this very serious area of immoral sins, I believe that He removes this protection from us and our loved ones also. He “consumes as a moth” that which is precious to us.
I believe He does these things as warnings, to get our attention, to prevent us from thinking that we can sin against Him and life goes on as normal, no difference. I think it is part of God’s discipline upon us to teach us these painful lessons, and woe to the person who sins and does not receive these rebukes from God’s hand!
How much loss are you willing to suffer in order to indulge in your sin? How much of your health or the health of a loved one are you willing to give so that you can have a few fleshly thrills? How many unexpected problems and expenses are you willing to put up with so that you can indulge your lusts? Immorality is a very high risk activity. Only those foolish enough to put God to the test will go there, and I’ll bet that God will win the contest.