By The Numbers...

Most everybody knows something about the life of David, the giant-killer, who became the second king over the Kingdom of Israel. He's the one who had a real heart for God, but got himself in hot water more than one time with the true sovereign over Israel. One of my favorite stories about someone else's trouble is found in I Chronicles 21. Now don't pretend that you never indulge yourself in another's misery every once-in-a-while. You know it makes you feel better about your own short-comings!
The story tells us about David and his big idea of taking a census of all of Israel. The scripture actually alludes to this being a seductive move that Satan pulled over on David. Either way, David failed in his decision. The taking of a census does not seem to be a big deal on the surface. Yet God saw this as an evil act on David's part. Why???
(1)David had a need to know his empire's strength. Any time you begin to guage your ability to accomplish God's purpose through human strength, you've began to think more highly of self than you should. David's act was like a man standing in front of a mirror and flexing his muscles, all the time thinking to himself, "Boy, you look GOOOOD!".
(2)David had begun to derive his confidence from the size of his army rather than God. It was not neccessary for David to know the number of fighting men that were in Israel. Just ask Gideon!
You see, any time we begin to adjust our faith by the numbers, we limit what God can do. Our success is never determined by the size of our army, our church, our denomination, or our pocketbook, but rather by the size of our God. You can live life by FAITH in him, or you can live it by the numbers.