“David
was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to
the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg You,
take away the guilt of Your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.'” – 2 Samuel 24:10
It just
seems to be human nature. As we grow in wealth and ability, our confidence
moves from complete trust in the Lord to trust in our resources. King David
decided one day that he needed to know how many fighting men he had in his
army. This was a grievous sin in the nation of Israel. God always made it clear
to the nation that He, not their army, was their source. It was against the law
of God to number the troops. David’s general, Joab, knew the serious nature of
such an action.
But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops
a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does
my lord the king want to do such a thing?” (2 Samuel 24:3)
Joab knew
that David was treading in dangerous waters when he brought up the idea to him.
But David had it in his mind that this is what he was going to do. And he did.
The result: God judged David for this sin by smiting the nation with a plague
that resulted in the loss of 70,000 lives.
A former stockbroker who lost everything in the 1987
stock crash in the United States. He made an interesting comment. “You cannot
know how to fully trust the Lord in the financial area until you really have
to. When I lost everything, I was forced to trust Him when I knew I could not
pay my next bill unless God provided. This was the time I learned to trust God.
I never had to trust God before I lost my money because I had plenty. We don’t
willingly enter this level of trust with God.”
Ask God
today to keep you from trusting in your own resources. Ask Him how to balance
trust and blessing from Him this day.
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