As we've seen in 1 & 2 Samuel, David has been on an escalator rise to power, from shepherd boy to national hero to now finally, to king of Israel.

Now, at the top of his game, his troops are out to war while David stays behind. Maybe he felt he deserved a break, maybe he was getting lazy, or maybe he was exhausted from years on the run. You can imagine the intensity of what he had been through–perhaps even PTSD from years of combat–and his adrenaline glands were probably shot from so many close calls of life and death moments.

As he looks out over his kingdom, David sees an attractive woman bathing and decides to take her. David abuses his authority and begins a series of despicable sinful acts that create chaos for him, his family, and eventually the kingdom.

We all face temptations of many kinds–and when we’re worn out, low, depressed, exhausted, or simply unwise and unguarded, we’re capable of things we never imagined possible.

The temptation that David faced is alive and well in our own times today, and this Sunday we’ll look at how to respond to temptation and how to win with God’s help.