2 Samuel 24:10
“Now David’s heart troubled him after he had counted the people. So David said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, LORD, please overlook the guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'”
This happens on occasion. We will sin. David did the right thing and confessed. The Lord pricked his conscience and he was aware of his sin.When we sin, fellowship with God is interrupted. We lose our peace and joy. Misery is the result. We return to Him, confess, we receive His forgiveness and fellowship is restored.
What’s interesting about this is there is no commandment, “Thou shall not take a census”. In fact God told Gideon to take a census. But for David it was a sin. God gives each of us convictions that limit us. Both Corinthians and Romans address our limitations. We have to abide by them.
David’s men tried to warn him against it. He wouldn’t listen. God puts our friends in our path to give us advice. Proverbs speaks of the wise having many counselors. We need to heed their advice. They aren’t always right, but we should always factor them in with our decisions.
We need to develop a sensitive heart. The opposite of this is to have a calloused heart. I Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Do not quench the Spirit”. Don’t ignore His whisperings, His promptings or His checks.
Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.” This refers to spiritual senses which need to be trained. By being in God’s Word, we live our lives and pay attention to interruptions as well as open doors. Test those that don’t violate scripture. That’s training.
Lord, keep us from evil. Help us to heed You and our godly friends.