1 Chronicles 21:8-12 - Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.” The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’” So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord - days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
1 Chronicles 21:8-12 - Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.” The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’” So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord - days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
King David had called for a census, and he had done so without consulting the Lord. But when he realized what he had done, he owned up to his error in judgment, asked forgiveness and accepted the discipline due him. That meant the innocent were punished, too. How can that be from an all-loving God? King David loved his people greatly, so with the harsh choices before him, the king chose the shortest in duration. Of course there would still be a great deal of pain and suffering, so the memory would remain both of what he had done and what had happened to the people. And that is how discipline is supposed to work: We remember not only what happened but why. If we do not learn from our mistakes, we do not stop making them. And while we laughingly say that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action while expecting a different outcome ... well, just finish that for yourself. We need to understand that Satan has filled our world with temptations that are meant to ensnare us to the point of no return. Many times it is blatantly obvious how bad things could get but often the devil is much more conniving and subtle. Our part in this is to use the lessons from God’s Word to maintain discipline over ourselves to avoid those traps. It is a daily routine, fighting against evil, so our study should be daily as well. To say we never have the time is, frankly, a lame excuse, especially when we can find that much time and more to spend in front of one size screen or another. Read a page, a chapter, or even a verse, hold that in your mind for the next 24 hours, then continue to do that each and every day. After a time, much like a runner or body builder, you will find that disciplining yourself built you up and is much easier than if it gets handed down as God had to with David. You can handle it!