What I find interesting in this chapter is verse 1, In the spring, when kings go off to war....But David remained in Jerusalem. David was the king Israel and he should have been in battle with his army. He should have been with his soldiers celebrating their crushing defeat of the Ammonites, but instead he stayed in Jerusalem.
We can learn so much from David's life, and one in particular, "BE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE!!"
Men if you struggle with lusting, then staying on the internet at home by yourself is probably not the best option for you. Ladies if you struggle with gossiping, then hanging around friends who gossip is not the smartest thing to do. People if you struggle with anything, going to the places or hanging with the people that feed that addiction or temptation is NOT WISE!! Be where you are suppose to be!!
You see if David goes into battle with his army, then he is celebrating with Uriah and patting him on the back instead of sleeping with his wife and planning Uriah's death. God does not spare David in this situation. God does not hand David a free pass on this one. In the last verse of the chapter we see God is not happy with David and later we find out just how unhappy God is. There is some really heavy stuff about to come down on David's house because of the sin he commits here in this chapter.
I am not saying that God's wrath is about to come down on your house because of your sin, but I am not saying it will not happen either. Our God is still the God of justice. Jesus' death and resurrection did not change God to a God that just hands out pixie dust and lollipops, and frolics in open pastures with "Afternoon Delight" playing in the background. If you act on your sins God will bring justice to your life trust me.
Like any good parent, we love are kids enough to give them discipline when they are out of line. David wasn't where he should have been, acted on his lustful desires, plotted and killed a man, and God disciplined him for it. If you are not where you should be and act on your selfish desire, God will discipline you too.
So I say this one more time, BE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE!
John
Amen John. Plan to stay two steps away from whatever it is that Satan is using to bring you down. Don't come along side of it and think you can control it because you've already lost with that line of independent thinking.
ReplyDeleteUh, Afternoon Delight? Interesting reference....can't wait to see how many people are Google'ing the lyrics...
-Mark Young
It is impossible to stay 2 steps away from Satan's plans to steal, kill and destroy and being where we are supposed to be is only the beginning. We are dealing with an adversary that has been doing this long enough that unlocking the sinful potential in a man's heart is simple for him. The intensity of Satan’s plans for you is directly proportionate to your effectiveness as a believer. For example, a worship pastor effectively leading a body into the presence of the Lord has a target painted on his back in the spiritual realm in a way that most of us do not.
ReplyDeleteA modern day example would be to look at the common story about the unappreciated pastor whose church might be struggling and his marriage not going so well. Suddenly a “sister” in the church is showering him with flattery which is, possibly, something he doesn’t get much of at home or at work. The innocent words of encouragement can easily take a dark turn. The pastor begins to open up to his new lady friend a little bit and eventually the affair is birthed. No internet required.
Staying away from compromising situations or personal weaknesses is a start but I believe the healthiest approach is to daily realize we are all weak people, we aren’t that smart and our sin nature has designed us for failure. We will never be able to insulate ourselves from sin or Satanic attacks (e.g. Job was “legally” given to Satan to test). All we can do is exactly what Jesus did when Satan tempted him: despite his physical, emotional and possibly spiritual weakness at that time he stood on the Word of God.
Yes, I am a lustful, selfish, prideful sinner just like everyone else but no matter what circumstance I might find myself in I must stand on the imputed and imparted righteousness of God; without it I have no breastplate (Eph 6:14). Thank God for His grace and mercy too which seem to go a lot deeper than most of us realize.
(Sorry, this got longer than I intended.)
I was doing my nightly reading to calm my mind before sleep, and I came across a passage that was too good to keep to myself. A passage that had too much of a connection to John's words not to share (even if I had already logged on and read today's blog).
ReplyDeleteFrom Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts"
"I don't mention it often, but sometimes I think of that story in the Old Testament. Can't remember what book, but you know--when God gave King Hezekiah fifteen more years of life? Because he prayed for it? But if Hezekiah had died when God first intended, Manasseh would never have been born. And what does the Bible say about Manasseh? Something to the effect that Manasseh had led the Israelites to do even more evil than all the heathen nations around Israel. Think of all the evil that would have been avoided if Hezekiah had died earlier, before Manasseh was born. I'm not saying anything, either way, about anything…Just that maybe…maybe you don't want to change the story, because you don't know what a different ending holds."
Wow. "Be where you are supposed to be." Those little words are loaded with application, John. What a great sentence to turn over in our heads as we strive to live the life God has called us to. Good stuff.
ReplyDelete