2 Samuel 11:2-5 “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
Morgan and I had been married for a year, and we had a weeklong trip planned to celebrate! The first anniversary, 52 weeks, 365 days, we had learned a lot about ourselves and each other… but we still had some things to figure out. The hotel was booked, the plans were made, one week in the mountains of Tennessee. It was the classic Gatlinburg – Smoky Mountains trip that we packed our bags for and readied the 2003 Buick Century to set sail. My goal on a long road trip: Make as few stops as possible and try to refuel, get food, and use the restroom all in one go. Three birds with one stone as “they” say. So, there we were, it was time to make a decision. Several hours into the trip, it was time to get some gas, but the low fuel indicator hadn’t come on just yet. We could stop at the approaching exit to refuel or go another 15 miles to the next exit where there were some better dining options. Morgan said “stop here for gas just to be safe” … I was too bold and too prideful. I went back and forth with her and in my own mind about whether or not we had the fuel to make the next exit. Usually, you get an additional 20-30 miles after the fuel light came on, the next exit was around 15 miles away… I decided to SEND IT! The second we passed the exit, the low fuel light came on, but that’s okay. We had 20-30 miles left, right? At least I thought we did. A mile and a half later we had to merge onto the next freeway. What we couldn’t see when I chose to make it to the next exit, was the standstill traffic a couple miles ahead. The sinking feeling set in, the “I told you so’s” came flying at me from the passenger seat, and now a real decision had to be made, or we were going to be up the creek without a paddle. I pulled over to the shoulder, looked back toward the exit we just passed, and decided to walk back to purchase a gas can and 2 gallons of gas to ensure we make it to the next exit safely. What went from making good time, just turned into a several hour delay and a less than thrilled wife. My poor and prideful decision making led to a failure that impacted my ego, my wife, and the enjoyment of the road trip.
There David sat, in “safety”, while others were at war, he lounges on the roof of the palace. The setting is cool, calm, and collected. In his own pride, he feels and appears to be free from the harm of the battlefield in the comfort of his own life…but he is far from safe. Because of his pride, he felt no threat, he felt in control, he felt like he knew the end to all his decisions. But he was not safe. Though he sat comfortably inside the city walls, atop the palace, those fortresses were no protection from his own sinfulness and flaws. His own prideful decision making had landed himself in a much more precarious predicament. He now stood in the middle of a battlefield, with no protection, with no walls, and the arrows of the enemy aimed straight at his heart.
So, it is with us. When we fail to set up the proper walls and build fortresses in our lives that protect us from the sinfulness of our flesh. When we don’t read, memorize, study, and saturate ourselves with the Word of God, it’s like walking out onto the battlefield without body armor or a weapon. When we fail to go to the Lord in prayer, it’s as if we tell the reinforcements to retreat. We would NEVER do that in war, and we must never do that on the battleground of our souls. Don’t be fooled by the comforts you’re experiencing in life, don’t be blinded by the blessing, don’t let your guard down in peacetime nor in the safe retreat. Be proactive, don’t let pride precede your decisions, don’t let comfort control you, don’t close your eyes.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Morgan and I had been married for a year, and we had a weeklong trip planned to celebrate! The first anniversary, 52 weeks, 365 days, we had learned a lot about ourselves and each other… but we still had some things to figure out. The hotel was booked, the plans were made, one week in the mountains of Tennessee. It was the classic Gatlinburg – Smoky Mountains trip that we packed our bags for and readied the 2003 Buick Century to set sail. My goal on a long road trip: Make as few stops as possible and try to refuel, get food, and use the restroom all in one go. Three birds with one stone as “they” say. So, there we were, it was time to make a decision. Several hours into the trip, it was time to get some gas, but the low fuel indicator hadn’t come on just yet. We could stop at the approaching exit to refuel or go another 15 miles to the next exit where there were some better dining options. Morgan said “stop here for gas just to be safe” … I was too bold and too prideful. I went back and forth with her and in my own mind about whether or not we had the fuel to make the next exit. Usually, you get an additional 20-30 miles after the fuel light came on, the next exit was around 15 miles away… I decided to SEND IT! The second we passed the exit, the low fuel light came on, but that’s okay. We had 20-30 miles left, right? At least I thought we did. A mile and a half later we had to merge onto the next freeway. What we couldn’t see when I chose to make it to the next exit, was the standstill traffic a couple miles ahead. The sinking feeling set in, the “I told you so’s” came flying at me from the passenger seat, and now a real decision had to be made, or we were going to be up the creek without a paddle. I pulled over to the shoulder, looked back toward the exit we just passed, and decided to walk back to purchase a gas can and 2 gallons of gas to ensure we make it to the next exit safely. What went from making good time, just turned into a several hour delay and a less than thrilled wife. My poor and prideful decision making led to a failure that impacted my ego, my wife, and the enjoyment of the road trip.
There David sat, in “safety”, while others were at war, he lounges on the roof of the palace. The setting is cool, calm, and collected. In his own pride, he feels and appears to be free from the harm of the battlefield in the comfort of his own life…but he is far from safe. Because of his pride, he felt no threat, he felt in control, he felt like he knew the end to all his decisions. But he was not safe. Though he sat comfortably inside the city walls, atop the palace, those fortresses were no protection from his own sinfulness and flaws. His own prideful decision making had landed himself in a much more precarious predicament. He now stood in the middle of a battlefield, with no protection, with no walls, and the arrows of the enemy aimed straight at his heart.
So, it is with us. When we fail to set up the proper walls and build fortresses in our lives that protect us from the sinfulness of our flesh. When we don’t read, memorize, study, and saturate ourselves with the Word of God, it’s like walking out onto the battlefield without body armor or a weapon. When we fail to go to the Lord in prayer, it’s as if we tell the reinforcements to retreat. We would NEVER do that in war, and we must never do that on the battleground of our souls. Don’t be fooled by the comforts you’re experiencing in life, don’t be blinded by the blessing, don’t let your guard down in peacetime nor in the safe retreat. Be proactive, don’t let pride precede your decisions, don’t let comfort control you, don’t close your eyes.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”