Today’s devotion is taken from 2 Samuel 11:1-13
When it comes to the life of King David, two stories always springs to our mind. His victory over Goliath and his fall into the sin of adultery with Bathsheba which led to other sins such a deception, murder and hypocrisy. David was about 50 years old when this occurred, he has walked with God for years. One would think the longer we walk with God, we would have such self-control that it would be impossible to fall into temptations. If it can happen to David, known as the “man after God’s heart”, it can happen to any of us.
Where are you supposed to be?
As King, David should have led his men into battle and not stayed home while they were out fighting and dying. Because of all his successes in the battlefield, pride may have got to him. When we become successful, we become vulnerable to trusting in ourselves rather than God. It can cause our guards to go down. If David carried out his duty as King, none of this would have happened, he neglected to do what is right. This story tells us of a sexual sin but it applies to sin of all nature. When we are in constant communion with God and being in a body of Christ who we can be accountable to, we will be better prepared when temptation comes. We need to grow each day in the grace and knowledge of Christ and put up our spiritual armour daily (Ephesians 6). Let’s pause and reflect, where are we supposed to be today, not only physically but also spiritually. Are we exposing ourselves to temptations? If God’s work is not our desire, something else will fill that space. The Apostle Paul warns that we should never become complacent in our Christian walk for when we think we are firm in our faith, we can easily fall into sin (1 Cor. 10:12).
Temptation is a process
In 3 verses (v.3-5), we see what happened when David fell into temptation. We often think this account happened so quickly and without warning, but temptation is a process. Most, if not all, temptations starts with some sin not dealt with. It is the beginning of a slippery slope. Picture yourself as you go down a slippery slope, the momentum gets stronger and more difficult to stop. David had at least eight wives and it seems David never dealt with his sexual lust. The solution is never to feed your indulgence but to exercise self control and more importantly to flee from it. The Bible advises us to Flee immorality!” (1 Cor. 6:18). “Flee youthful lusts” (2 Tim. 2:22) and in the Lord’s prayer, it says “lead us not into temptation”. Thus David’s first step in moral failure was that he saw Bathsheba bathing, but he did not flee nor realised his lust.
We have to deal with the sin in our life. Let the Holy Spirit tutor us and surrender it to Him today. Sin is like little cracks in the roof, as the rain pours, the roof will not withhold it as time goes on. We need to spend time meditating and practicing the word of God. Exercise surrender by prayer and the constant communion will make our conscience more sensitive and our guards against temptation will be strengthened.
Prayer:
O Lord “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Jesus, we look to you who has been tempted in every way and yet, never sin. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guard our hearts and give us strength to flee from all temptations.
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