Why does God even need damage control? God needs it because He loves you so much. He wants to be in a love-filled relationship with you for all of eternity. However, when you turn away from Him and practice ways contrary to His will, (sin) you have severed your relationship with Him.
... your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face so that He does not hear. Is. 59:2 NASB
Yes, sin separates you from God. He doesn't stop loving you, but He cannot be in your presence because He is pure righteousness. God cannot be in a sinful relationship.
Thus, when you miss the mark that God set for your behaviors and thoughts, you separate yourself from God, from your prayer connection, and from His love.
Like I said, God does not stop loving you, but He cannot get that love to you because you have erected a wall of transgression that He cannot cross.
Sin also hurts. It hurts to be separated from your Creator. After all, God is your first and primary source of love. You may also beat yourself up with guilt and shame and isolate yourself from God. More pain. If you do that, it's because you don't know about God's damage control.
Instead, you might believe that God would not take you back. (Never true.) So you give up and fall back into more destructive behavior, followed by more guilt and shame. You are fortifying the wall that you built between you and God. And then your life begins to crumble because you won't let God pick you back up.
This cycle is well articulated by the apostle Paul:
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience, resulting in righteousness? Rom. 6:16 NASB
Obedience to God's word means life. Sin leads to death - both physically and spiritually.
There are three essential actions that God needs for you to perform when you miss the mark, so that He can exercise damage control.
1. Don't fraternize with people who sin intentionally.
2. Don't listen to that whisper in your hear that tells you that it's okay to act contrary to God's word.
3. Confess to God with a repentant heart when you have sinned.
You've got to separate yourself from the rotten apples. Remember that any voice (real or imagined) that tells you to transgress the word of God, does not have your best interests in mind. And finally, confess and repent.
God knows what you've done. (Duh!) He just wants you to acknowledge it, to take responsibility for it. He does not want you to judge yourself over it. And the repentance means that you are coming before God with genuine sorrow for all the injured parties, (that includes you and God) and with your best intent to turn away from that old behavior.
Ask God for the strength to make that change, because if you had the strength, you wouldn't have committed those actions in the first place.
Ask God to reveal to you that wound that you have inside that you have been trying to soothe, cover up, and or forget with your sin behavior so that you can focus your change around that. Ask God to heal that wound. He will because He wants you back...
That's when God begins His damage control:
"The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and glorious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love an faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin... Ex. 34:6, 7. ESV
When you come to Him, He will wipe away any stain that you have perpetrated upon yourself. Yes, He might chastise you a bit, and He might place things and events in your life that are uncomfortable - in order to bring you back to Him. But in the end, returning to God is a choice that you have to make.
God is faithful. Your slate is wiped clean. Your love-line to Him is reconnected - all because God practiced a damage control called forgiveness.
It doesn't matter what you've done. Come back Home. Be forgiven. Be healed. Be completely loved...
Other supporting scripture: Num. 16:26; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1; Pr. 28:13; 2 Chr. 7:14; Rev. 3:19; Is. 1:18; Mic. 7:18.
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