So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. 2 Samuel 24:15
One spring while in college, after wrestling was over, I worked hard waiting tables, saving up $1,300. As I left school that year and headed west for a summer job, I felt pretty good about my financial situation. I had a dollar amount in my head that I wanted saved up for the next school year and I was well on my way. I thought I might even be able to splurge a little bit, buying something frivolous for myself. While driving to that summer job, the fifth gear went out on my manual transmission. I limped the rest of the way in fourth gear, going 45 mph for the last 100 miles, and when I got my car back from the garage a few weeks later, with a rebuilt transmission, the bill was? Yep – $1,300. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. It’s one I’ve had to relearn occasionally over the years and it’s this: Because my world can change so rapidly, it’s foolish to put my faith in me and my own strength.
This is the painful lesson King David learned in today’s passage. In the story, the king desired to know the size of his army. His advisors counseled against it – Just rely on God – but David had to know, so the census proceeded. In all, his army totaled 1.3 million soldiers, which must have given David some sense of comfort and strength. His army was massive. His kingdom was secure. David soon found out however, that self-reliance is a fool’s errand, as God struck down 70,000 of his troops for his pride and self-sufficiency. God needed David to understand that his strength and security came from God, not from the might of David’s own hand.
You could look at my car story a couple of ways. You could see a God who reached down and broke my transmission to teach me a lesson. Alternatively, you could see a God who allowed me a job where I could save up enough to pay for the coming need. Or it could just be some stuff that God allowed to happen. The lesson remains though – Because my world changes to quickly, it’s foolish to rely on me and my success. When I think I have my world under control, and I’m confident in my own success, I’m on dangerous ground. My strength and security cannot have their foundation on circumstance, because circumstance is so unstable. Rather, like David, I must learn that my strength and security is in God alone. Then, I can experience peace, even when circumstances change unexpectedly.