Bible Devotions for Living

It’s no mystery that a lack of self-control will get you into trouble … yet, we all still struggle with self-control at times. Be self-controlled because without it, you can quickly get yourself into trouble and that trouble from one moment of weakness can cause a lifetime of suffering. That was the case of King David.

You know that King David was a godly man, but he had a famous lack in self-control regarding a woman named Bathsheba.

In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. ³ So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, “This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: “I am pregnant.” ⁶ David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. ⁸ Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?” ¹¹ Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!” ¹² “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home. ¹⁴ The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies. ¹⁶ When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. ¹⁷ Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hittite also died. (2 Sam 11:1-17)

David didn’t use self-control during this whole ordeal. He could have used it to turn his head away from looking at her while on the roof, could have backed off when he found out she was married, could have changed his mind while they were getting her, and on and on. David’s lack of self-control caused him to commit one sin which led to many others. Here’s how God responded:

¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife … I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly. ¹² You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight. (2 Sam 12:10-12)

David’s lack of self-control led to sin that brought repercussions to him, his family, and his kingdom, for the rest of his life:

Control yourself to resist temptations. Control your words, thoughts, and actions. Keep in mind that:

… sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. (Gen 4:7b)

Understand that without self-control, you are defenseless:

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. (Pv 25:28)

Think about it:

Have you seen the consequences of lacking self-control in your life?

What could you have done differently to stay holy?

Are you in control of your thoughts, words, and actions, or do they get you into trouble?

Do you have a plan in mind to control yourself the next time you are tempted?

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Ti 2:11-12)