A Man Disciplined For Battle.

2^nd Samuel 11:11-13

“Uriah said to David, 'The Ark and Israel and Judah well in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.'

Then David said to Uriah, 'Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.' so Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.”

With all that Pastor Art has talked about today, I can only think about the two extremes.

One of the verses from today Proverbs 25:28 makes me think of David at the beginning of this chapter.

We know the story pretty well, David started down the wrong path when he stayed back instead of going out to battle. By being idle.

I think this is where I get in trouble. When I don't go do something I should. Most often it happens when I avoid having a conversation that I know that I should have. Over a year ago I should have set better boundaries with my ex. Today it's bringing my feelings to the light when someone agitates or hurts me. This comes from a lack of self control. Like the man in proverbs 25:28 I left myself open to attack. And I am finally hopefully coming near the end of the healing process of the ways I compromised last year. And I'm only beginning the process, or at best midway into, learning how to communicate emotions effectively.

Other ways I struggle is putting of work when I don't feel like doing it, that is letting my emotions govern my thoughts, which Doug has pointed out is not healthy.

This week and this story really shows me that before coming to ignite I was in a place like David. Though I was still walking in faith, barely, I was letting decay my self control and discipline.

I was staying back from battle, or going places I shouldn't have been. I was walking in darkness.

Being here I have been given something Pastor Art has talked about today. Accountability. I am incredibly thankful for this. And I hope that I am becoming more like the other character in our text. Uriah. Uriah had self control, because before he came to Jerusalem. He had purposed in his heart to be a man disciplined for battle.

We are about to go home, some of us don't like hearing that. We don't like to hear it because some of us have people who knew us before ignite. I have people who knew me as a compromised David. Were my compromises huge? No. But here's the thing, any compromise is dangerous. Any time I compromise I lack self control. But like Uriah I need to have my mind on the battle and my fellow soldiers. So when I get home I need to purpose in my heart now to speak up when God calls me to. I will be keeping my mind on the spiritual battle I'm fighting, and on my Guatemala Team mates. Because when I was plucked away from home I was walking the edge, and honestly was not regularly in quiet time and the Word. I was barely attentive at church and I was in an ungodly work place, with secular friends. God plucked me out of a Bathsheba situation. And I praise God because He has been doing things at home, so the dynamic is not exactly the same. However I still have challenges to face. I could go on but here is my point. I want to purpose now to be disciplined at home as well as here. I want to be like Uriah with my mind on the battle.

Application.

Purpose in my heart to continue in disciplines I have practiced here.

How?

I will give Dana a full account of my ten days at home when we return for field time.