I had just gotten over to the school...that is our rival school. The school was having an all-nighter, and me and some of my friends were going to “crash” their fun. Honestly, I was an immature teenager at the time, and this wasn’t going to end well...except something happened before the party even started. While I was at Taco Bell with a couple of my friends, some of my other friends went over to the school ahead of us. One of my friends decided that he was going to do “donuts” with his truck in the parking lot which was filled with both snow and cars...not a smart move...and it happened! He lost control and crashed into two other cars. We had just arrived when he did this. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people doing the wrong things! That didn’t go well.
How many times have we “underestimated” the places that we have gone or the people we have hung out with...not foreseeing the impending consequences? Probably too many, I would guess.
The most powerful king in the world at the time was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” It was springtime, which was a prime time for armies to go to war. There was food in the fields that they could live off of, and the roads were more passable than at other times of the year. David was supposed to be leading his army into battle, but instead, he lingered back in the palace. Monarchs in those days were not figureheads; they were warriors and leaders. David was a “man of war”, who for a season, forgot his purpose, and it cost him. I’ll let the other guys develop what David did in the next few devotionals, for now, my focus is underestimating our surroundings. How often have you done that, and it ended up hurting you more than you ever could have imagined? David lost so much for simply underestimating his purpose.
When I was a youth pastor, I was constantly challenging students to pick the right friends, go to the right places, and participate in the right actions. Why? Because if they failed to do any of these things, it would lead to unnecessary pain in their lives. There is a girl that comes to my mind who failed to heed my warning. Her name was Crystal. She decided that she was going to date a man who was close to ten years older than her, and worse yet, he was not a Christian. I begged her. I pleaded with her. I warned her. None of it mattered, and her decision eventually swayed her away from both God and his church.
The Bible gives to us a very direct challenge in 2 Timothy 2:22 where it reads: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It also gives to us a warning in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that we better heed: “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
One of the greatest ways that we can protect against sin’s devastation is through purposeful and intentional living. If you’ve struggled with or currently struggle with {fill in the blank}, avoid the places that promote or sell it like bars, old neighborhoods, old friendships, etc. If you know that you tend to “get in trouble when you have a lot of extra time,” determine to “schedule your life” with many meaningful responsibilities. The natural law is that you cannot be doing both good and bad things at the same time. In other words, if you’re serving at a food give-a-way, you’re not online looking at porn. If you’re attending a Bible class, you’re not out driving to the liquor store. If you’re at work being productive, you’re not at home being destructive...online or in a million other ways. The point is that purpose has the power to protect you from poor decisions.
No one ever “plans to get in trouble,” but it’s what tends to happen when we are not intentional with our time. My friend got himself in a lot of trouble because he was waiting for us to get to the school, and he was bored. You’ve heard the phrase before: “An idle mind is the Devil’s playground.” It’s true. Let’s live with intentionality. Let’s make sure that we are in the “right place at the right time,” which means that it’s time that we make some changes before it’s too late. David did some things that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Why? Because he was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Learn from David. Protect yourself and your family. They’re worth it.
How many times have we “underestimated” the places that we have gone or the people we have hung out with...not foreseeing the impending consequences? Probably too many, I would guess.
The most powerful king in the world at the time was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” It was springtime, which was a prime time for armies to go to war. There was food in the fields that they could live off of, and the roads were more passable than at other times of the year. David was supposed to be leading his army into battle, but instead, he lingered back in the palace. Monarchs in those days were not figureheads; they were warriors and leaders. David was a “man of war”, who for a season, forgot his purpose, and it cost him. I’ll let the other guys develop what David did in the next few devotionals, for now, my focus is underestimating our surroundings. How often have you done that, and it ended up hurting you more than you ever could have imagined? David lost so much for simply underestimating his purpose.
When I was a youth pastor, I was constantly challenging students to pick the right friends, go to the right places, and participate in the right actions. Why? Because if they failed to do any of these things, it would lead to unnecessary pain in their lives. There is a girl that comes to my mind who failed to heed my warning. Her name was Crystal. She decided that she was going to date a man who was close to ten years older than her, and worse yet, he was not a Christian. I begged her. I pleaded with her. I warned her. None of it mattered, and her decision eventually swayed her away from both God and his church.
The Bible gives to us a very direct challenge in 2 Timothy 2:22 where it reads: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It also gives to us a warning in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that we better heed: “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
One of the greatest ways that we can protect against sin’s devastation is through purposeful and intentional living. If you’ve struggled with or currently struggle with {fill in the blank}, avoid the places that promote or sell it like bars, old neighborhoods, old friendships, etc. If you know that you tend to “get in trouble when you have a lot of extra time,” determine to “schedule your life” with many meaningful responsibilities. The natural law is that you cannot be doing both good and bad things at the same time. In other words, if you’re serving at a food give-a-way, you’re not online looking at porn. If you’re attending a Bible class, you’re not out driving to the liquor store. If you’re at work being productive, you’re not at home being destructive...online or in a million other ways. The point is that purpose has the power to protect you from poor decisions.
No one ever “plans to get in trouble,” but it’s what tends to happen when we are not intentional with our time. My friend got himself in a lot of trouble because he was waiting for us to get to the school, and he was bored. You’ve heard the phrase before: “An idle mind is the Devil’s playground.” It’s true. Let’s live with intentionality. Let’s make sure that we are in the “right place at the right time,” which means that it’s time that we make some changes before it’s too late. David did some things that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Why? Because he was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Learn from David. Protect yourself and your family. They’re worth it.