APRIL 24, 2025

 “God desires to reveal His heart to us and to build His heart into us as we seek His face.” 

― Bill Mills, Adequate: How God Empowers Ordinary People to Serve

2 SAMUEL 10-12

11The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. (12:1-9)

LUKE 19:29-48

41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Jesus at the Temple

45When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be a house of prayer’^c ; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^d ”

47Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

JOURNAL 

As humans, we are often blinded by our fears and our pride. I still struggle to understand how David, a man after God’s own heart, could fall so far, so quickly. The answer, however, may lie in the fact that when we cease to rely on God, we open ourselves to the possibility of falling prey to sin in ways we never imagined. What’s particularly troubling about David’s downfall is that he didn’t seem to turn away from God in the traditional sense; rather, he stopped seeking and depending on God as he had before. This shift allowed him to misuse his power, leading him to commit grave sins: he orchestrated the breaking up of a marriage and even had one of his own men murdered (2 Samuel 11:1-27).

What’s especially noteworthy is that David’s sin began as a result of boredom. While his army was out at battle, David stayed home, perhaps feeling a sense of complacency and self-satisfaction. From the roof of his palace, he admired his kingdom, and in that moment, he saw Bathsheba. Despite having many wives and concubines, he became consumed with greed and lust, desiring what was forbidden. This temptation to take something that didn’t belong to him—something that was off-limits—echoes the same primal desire for what is forbidden that we see from the beginning of the Bible, in the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:6).

This pattern is what I believe Jesus refers to when He says, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace” (Luke 19:42). We often think that success, riches, or leisure will bring us peace, but as David’s story shows, these things do not satisfy the soul. In fact, they can even lead us astray. In my own life, I’ve found that it is during times of struggle and when I am actively working through problems that I truly experience the most profound joy. While vacations or periods of rest can provide peace and relaxation, they don’t necessarily contribute to spiritual growth. Those moments of rest don’t stand out as times of deep revelation or significant transformation.

True peace with God is found in seeking Him, and this often happens most deeply when we are faced with challenges that take us beyond our own wisdom. When I find myself in situations where I must rely on God for guidance, when I’m struggling to understand or resolve something, that is when I experience a deeper connection with Him. As Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, peace comes not from our circumstances, but from God’s presence, “which transcends all understanding.” This peace guards our hearts and minds when we seek Him, especially in our struggles.

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9