Today’s Reading, 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22, & Psalms 30
Focal Scripture: 1 Chronicles 21:1 “Satan , rose up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel.”
If you make big decisions on a normal basis, it is inevitable that you are going to make a bad one. This can happen from pride, or it can happen from ignorance. Unfortunately, now and then, this poor decision can be influenced by our adversary, Satan. I want to make abundantly clear that poor choices are not always Satan’s fault. More often than not, we are the ones responsible for sin and choices. However, Satan and his minions tempt us and incite us to make poor choices that ruin our testimony and get us off track. We can even be tempted by good and positive things in our lives.
In today’s reading, we see that Satan was rising against Israel. He was coming to the nation and wanted to see it destroyed. What he does instead of inciting a war is to go after the leader, David. This verse tells us that he incited David to count the people. We are not sure how exactly this happened or precisely why this was a sin, but we do know that it brought severe consequences for David and the people. Counting people shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but it turns out that the Lord said that it was and has to be dealt with quickly. Satan incited the leader to stray from the truth.
This is a great leadership lesson for believers. We must understand that our decisions have consequences and that every opportunity that we have to honor the Lord should be taken. This also means that our adversary will do anything he can to present opportunities for us to make poor choices and get us away from the straight path. Satan can’t be everywhere at all times, but he does understand what tempts us and brings us down.
This is the challenge for believers today to acknowledge. Leadership is one of the ways the enemy will try to keep people from believing. We can look at our current culture and see the plethora of so-called religious leaders who are being exposed because of bad decisions. They are being incited to follow their heart and not God’s heart.
So what is the answer? It is always important to humble ourselves and make sure our hearts are brought before the Lord. We must die to ourselves daily. We must understand that our fight is not against other people but against an unseen enemy who longs to destroy reputations and get believers off track. The only way to fight this enemy is to be biblically sound. To have a faith that is powerfully rooted in scripture. This is our goal and our only hope.
Believers have to think and act differently, and it starts with our biblical knowledge and persistence.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Psalms 108-110
