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Falling the Right Way February 13, 2013 • By Ed Wrather
02.13.13
So
Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, "Shall seven years
of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months
before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three
days' plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should
take back to Him who sent me." And David said to Gad, "I am in great
distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies
are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." So the Lord
sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From
Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. - 2 Samuel
24:13-15 NKJV.
I had never heard of this, but apparently
in Boston a construction company wraps their scaffolding in bubble wrap
until the work is completed. One of the construction workers is very
thankful for that bubble wrap. He is thankful because when he fell
30-feet he landed on some unused bubble wrap laying on the ground. When
the worker landed on the wrap, he became embedded in it, and
firefighters had to cut him out of it. He did experience some shoulder
and back injuries, but will survive. And...suddenly, a new use for bubble
wrap has been found! In 1957, when Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes
created bubble wrap while trying to make a 3D wallpaper they must have
had little idea of how their creation would someday be used. (Orange
News 02.06.13; WCBV.com 02.06.13)
How did David sin in
numbering, taking a census, of his armed forces? His motivation appears
to be one of pride. David is now an old king who has experienced the
power of God over many years. David does not need to know the strength
of his armed forces; instead, he needs to trust in His God. The king
knows this, because in Psalm 20:7 NKJV David wrote, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
Because
of his sin, God gives David a choice, which is communicated to him
through the prophet Gad. All three choices are bad, but David makes a
wise choice. He chooses to depend upon the mercies of God and not upon
the mercy of any man. The consequences of David's sin are devastating;
however, it does give us a picture of the destructive nature of all sin.
All sin is destructive. All sin is terrible. All sin brings death,
because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)."
What
is it that you are trusting in? Your money? Your health? Your job? Your
business? Your family? Some bubble wrap? All of those earthly things
can be taken away in a moment of time.
When it comes to sin,
people choose to deal with it in different ways. Some of us choose to
live with it. Some of us choose to ignore it. Some of us try to hide it.
Some of us blame others for it. It all comes down to a matter of trust.
Can we trust God to treat us fairly? Can we trust God that He will do
what He says? If we trust God, we will choose to fall in the right way.
If we trust God, we will make the choice that David made. We will choose
to fall into the hands of our God. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Fall at the feet of Jesus, agree with Him about the destructiveness of your sins seeking His forgiveness...and you will have it.
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