A LIFE of enduring worship is a culture of reverence and openness to God by default.
David lived such a life.
The Narrative
HIS LIFE was an adventure fraught with adversity and intrigue—and marked with loss and disappointment.
When the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, God used David to harm them by taking a census—and he instructed his chief of staff to count the people.
"May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?" (2 Samuel 24:3)
But the king insisted that they take the census—and Joab and the commanders went out to count the people.
After they had done this, David's conscience bothered him. He knew that he had sinned and asked God for forgiveness. (2 Samuel 24:10)
When your conscience bothers you, what do you do?
THIS CENSUS was a sin because Israel had just defeated the Philistines, and counting his soldiers was probably associated with pride and self-reliance.
It seems that he wanted to increase his royal might that contrasted with reliance on God.
Are you needy of God?
If you are in the kingdom, you know how needy you are—and dependent on grace.
Whenever you are the hero of your story, you have no place in Christ, and you will never be needy of Him.
In this difficult times, may God see our pain and stop the plague
Understand the Mercy of God
WITHOUT THE MERCY of God, you cannot live a life of enduring worship.
God gave David three choices—do you want to have seven years of famine in the land? Would you rather be on the run from your enemies for three months? Or shall a plague rage for three days through the land? (2 Samuel 24:13)
He understood the mercy of God and chose to fall into His hands.
And God sent an epidemic the following morning. It swept through Israel, killing 70,000 people.
But when the angel of God reached out to destroy Jerusalem, God felt the pain and told him to pull back.
In this difficult time, may God see our pain and stop this plague.
Learn to take Ownership
WHEN DAVID looked up and saw the angel, he and the elders bowed their heads in prayer and covered themselves.
"I am the one who sinned: I the shepherd did the wrong. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me and my family, not them," said David. (2 Samuel 24:17)
David took responsibility for doing wrong.
Every adversity you face should deepen your spiritual quest.
Seek Counsel
THAT VERY DAY, David's seer told him to go and build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
David went there and humbled himself before the mighty hand of God.
And when Araunah saw him, he asked, "Why has my master the king come to see me?"
To buy your threshing floor so that I can build an altar to the Lord and put an end to this disaster.
And he offered the king his land for free.
"No. I've got to buy it from you for a good price; I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice," replied David. (2 Samuel 24:24)
He bought the land and the ox. David built an altar and sacrificed peace and burnt offerings.
God heard his prayers and stopped the plague.
You cannot be a man of enduring worship without making sacrifices.
I PRAY that this year, your worship of Him will take a turn for the better, and His presence will be more real to you.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
WE CANNOT LOWER God's standards and please Him or bend his rules and assume that we are walking in obedience.
We make the mistake of watering down the church's integrity, and we think that things will change for the better.
God isn't interested in our sense of duty, but our hearts drawn to him.
And here's how to get dressed before Him—be ye holy as your Heavenly Father is holy.
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