Amnon was so vexed

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 13-15

2 Samuel 13:2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.

Just because you want to do something does not mean you should act upon it. As a matter of fact, the desires of the heart need to come from God, or they will be motivated by sin. Some say that a believer would never have the thoughts that Amnon had toward Tamar, but the fact is that we still have our flesh to deal with even when we are believers.

How should Amnon have dealt with his desires? First, he should have analyzed his thought life.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The Bible tells us cast down imaginations and to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ. The things that we think about lead to the actions that we take. If we would see our desires change, we must change our delights.

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Amnon should have been focusing his delight upon God instead of Tamar.

Psalms 1:1-2 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Amnon did just the opposite of this! Instead of delighting himself in the law of the Lord, he listened to unwise and ungoldly counsel from his 'friend', Jonadab. Our counsel should come from God's Word. When we read the Word prayerfully, we learn God's will and God's ways. Then we are able to set our minds on godly things instead of on earthly things.

Colossians 3:1-2 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

As we set our affections and desires on the things of God, we can see clearly to make godly choices. The Spirit of God living in us will guide us to live fruitful lives instead of the fleshly lusts motivating our choices.

Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Walking in the Spirit is letting God's Spirit motivate our desires and guide our decisions. Had Amnon prayed and studied the Word of God, he would never have been led by God's Spirit to make the decision he did. Amnon walked in the flesh and he reaped the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, so did Tamar. Fleshly motivated sinful actions always have consequences.

Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Just because we want to do something, is not a good reason for doing it. We should take the thought captive and prayerfully weigh the desire against God's Word. Does the desire come from our flesh or from God's Spirit? If it is a Spiritual desire, we should pursue it. If it is fleshly, we should put it away from us and go in a godly direction.

Jesus will give us the victory, we need to listen and follow his lead!

In Christ,
Rody