2 Samuel, Week 28 - Day 1: When Pride Gets the Best of Us

2 Samuel, Week 28 Day 1: When Pride Gets the Best of Us Devotional You have been here. Life is good, the pieces are fitting together, and somewhere in there you started trusting what you built instead of the God who built it for you. That is David in 2 Samuel 24. He numbered his army. Not because he needed the count for a war. He did it out of pride. He wanted to measure his own strength and be impressed with what he had piled up. God gave David everything he had. David took his eyes off the Giver and put them on the gifts. Sound familiar? You look at your career, your family, your reputation, your bank account, and you start believing those things are what keep you safe. They do not. Nothing you accumulate protects you from the hand of God. Nothing you build impresses Him. Here is the good news. God did not leave David in his pride, and He will not leave you in yours. Before David acted, God sent Joab to warn him. God was already working to pull David back. He does that for you. He speaks through Scripture. He speaks through a friend who tells you the truth you do not want to hear. The question is whether you are listening. Humility is not weakness. Humility is the posture that keeps you close to God and guards you from your own worst instincts. When you know that everything you have came from His hand, you stop grasping and you start trusting. Bible Verse “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) Reflection Question Where in your life right now are you trusting in your own strength or resources more than you are trusting in God? Quote “You don’t have to give in to temptation.” Prayer Lord, forgive me for every time I have put my confidence in what I built instead of in You. Give me the humility to see that every good thing I have came from Your hand and not from mine. Amen.