David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he
said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I
beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish
thing ” (2 Samuel 24:10).
It just seems to be human nature. As we grow in wealth and ability, our
confidence moves from complete trust in the Lord to our resources. King
David decided one day that he needed to know how many fighting men he had in
his army. This was a grievous sin in the nation of Israel. God always made
it clear to the nation that He was their source, not their army. It was
against the law of God to number the troops. David’s general, Joab, knew the
serious nature of such an action. “But Joab replied to the king, “May the
Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of
my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a
thing?” Joab knew that David was treading in dangerous waters when he
brought up the idea to him. But David had it in his mind that this is what
he was going to do. And he did. The result: God judged David for this sin by
smiting the nation with a plague that resulted in the loss of 70,000 lives.
Recently I was having lunch with a former stockbroker who lost everything in
the 1987 stock crash in the United States. He made an interesting comment.
“You cannot know how to fully trust the Lord in the financial area until you
really have to. When I lost everything I was forced to trust Him when I knew
I could not pay my next bill unless God provided. This was the time I
learned to trust God. I never had to trust God before I lost my money
because I had plenty. We don’t willingly enter this level of trust with
God.”
Ask God today to keep you from trusting in your own resources. Ask Him how
to balance trust and blessing from Him this day.