1 Chronicles 21
I found so much in this passage that can relate to our own lives. Satan provokes David to take a count of his army. Satan provokes us to.....(think about your life and fill in the blank). In the case of David, satan caused David to fall into his own pride. In the blink of an eye David went from depending on God's strength to fight his battles, to feeling prideful about how strong his army was. He lost sight of the fact that God was using him for His great purposes. Now satan can't force us to do anything, but just like he tempted Eve with the apple, he incited David to take a census. This just made me stop and think about the pitfalls I've been incited to fall into because my motivation was selfishness, pride or arrogance. Here's where David shines though - once he realized what he had done, he repented. God never said there wouldn't be consequences for bad choices and this case God gave David a few options, but David knew that the best place to be, even in the consequence, was in God's hands. David saw the angel with his sword drawn, ready to destroy upon God's command. In David's plea for mercy, God stopped the angel who He had sent before everything was destroyed. Envisioning this scenario just made me think about God's mercy and grace for us. The dictionary defines mercy as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power - a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. We will all be provoked like David and give way to our human imperfections. When we choose to fall into the hands of God we understand that Jesus took our imperfections and nailed them to The Cross, and covered them in His Blood. That's why we can cry out to God and ask for relief from our distress as He hears our prayers and ask for His mercy. (Psalm 4:1) Lord there aren't enough words to express my gratitude for your mercy and grace, so I continue to give You my heart. I pray Lord for my brothers and sisters. I ask Lord that You look upon their lives, this nation and the world, and that You would pour out Your mercy, love and grace until every knee bows, and every tongue confesses that You are Lord.
Randi
I found so much in this passage that can relate to our own lives. Satan provokes David to take a count of his army. Satan provokes us to.....(think about your life and fill in the blank). In the case of David, satan caused David to fall into his own pride. In the blink of an eye David went from depending on God's strength to fight his battles, to feeling prideful about how strong his army was. He lost sight of the fact that God was using him for His great purposes. Now satan can't force us to do anything, but just like he tempted Eve with the apple, he incited David to take a census. This just made me stop and think about the pitfalls I've been incited to fall into because my motivation was selfishness, pride or arrogance. Here's where David shines though - once he realized what he had done, he repented. God never said there wouldn't be consequences for bad choices and this case God gave David a few options, but David knew that the best place to be, even in the consequence, was in God's hands. David saw the angel with his sword drawn, ready to destroy upon God's command. In David's plea for mercy, God stopped the angel who He had sent before everything was destroyed. Envisioning this scenario just made me think about God's mercy and grace for us. The dictionary defines mercy as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power - a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. We will all be provoked like David and give way to our human imperfections. When we choose to fall into the hands of God we understand that Jesus took our imperfections and nailed them to The Cross, and covered them in His Blood. That's why we can cry out to God and ask for relief from our distress as He hears our prayers and ask for His mercy. (Psalm 4:1) Lord there aren't enough words to express my gratitude for your mercy and grace, so I continue to give You my heart. I pray Lord for my brothers and sisters. I ask Lord that You look upon their lives, this nation and the world, and that You would pour out Your mercy, love and grace until every knee bows, and every tongue confesses that You are Lord.
Randi
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