In 1 Chronicles 21, a sin of David's that is not talked about so much is revealed. Sure, David sinned - he sinned hugely. Most people know he committed adultery and even murder as a result of the adultery. (sin leads to more sin) But no one talks about the sin of the census. The sin of pride creeping in and taking the place of glorifying God and God alone. He ordered a census to be taken of the land so he could see how large the nation God placed in his hands had become. He seemed to have forgotten this was God's nation and he was called to rule under God's authority and the nation grew and enjoyed blessings only because of God. The great thing about our amazing Lord is that He will never let His children sin successfully. The great thing we see in David is that when he did realize he was stuck in sin, he was always really quick to sincerely, genuinely and wholeheartedly fall on his face before God in true repentance. David knew God and His mercies. David loved God and had a heart after God. David was a shepherd to God's people and genuinely cared for them out of his love for God. We will all face times and moments when we radically mess up. But when we come to God with a sincere heart of repentance, God will respond even more radically. His love and mercy is bigger than our sin. Because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, we can choose to entrust our lives to Him, repent, and know we've already been forgiven when we do. We can choose to continue to chase after God and pursue His holiness with all our guts. It is finished. For eternity.
