Remember God In Success
BRD REFLECTION 2025
1 Chronicles 20; 1 Chronicles 21 and Psalm 76 (NIV)
(Patrick Chua, Pastoral Team Member)
READ:
For this devotion, I have focused on 1 Chronicles 21:24-26 (NIV):
But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”
So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
OBSERVE:
After victories over the Ammonites and Philistines (1 Chronicles 20:1-8), King David succumbed to the temptation of taking pride in his military strength and ordered a census of his fighting men. David wanted to prove his success was due to the number of soldiers he commanded, rather than his trust in God. This angered God, as King David relied on his own military might (one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword) instead of trusting in God alone. In response, God gave David 3 options for His displeasure to be expressed. David chose a plague that caused seventy thousand men of Israel to fall dead. Realizing his sin, David repented by building an altar to offer burnt and fellowship offerings. He purchased the site of the altar from Araunah, paying the full price of six hundred shekels of gold, despite Araunah’s offer to give it to him for free.
APPLY:
Be cautious of taking pride in my successes and achievements, and remember that God alone provides the resources and people for these accomplishments. Like King David, be quick to recognize mistakes and repent from pride, rather than rationalising the motives behind my actions. “Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honour.” (Proverbs 18:12, NIV).
DO:
• Remember that God alone provides the resources and people for all accomplishments.
• Be quick to recognise mistakes and repent from pride.
PRAY:
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings and successes You have poured into my life. I am deeply grateful for Your grace and provision. Help me to remain humble in the face of achievement. Remind me that every good thing comes from You, and not from my own strength or wisdom. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.
