Day 154 At What Cost?!

 

6/3/2026

"No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; 

nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God 

with that which costs me nothing."

2 Samuel 24:24  

 

An interesting thing happened to me today! Well, it seems as if interesting things are becoming more common, as my life becomes more complicated, yet much freer spiritually speaking. Each morning I turn on my music on YouTube, but this morning the normal appearance of the page on my phone consisted of "shorts" rather than videos. And the "shorts" were not ones I would even look at, because I don't have the time nor the inclination to scroll. I had to search for my music, and when it posted on the page, it still had "shorts" as part of the menu. Also, my search engine on the phone, which is Google, had erased my searches and only showed the usual daily happenings that Google reports. Even my search engine on my laptop, Firefox, was behaving unnaturally. I felt as if I was in an AI Twilight Zone, and maybe I was getting a foreshadowing of what is to come.

So, music aside, I decided to just talk to God before I began my Bible study. I talk to Him all the time, but I had much more on my mind, and I did want to ask Him why this was happening. It didn't take me long, as I am very much aware of the extreme tactics the enemy takes to distract, but he needs to consider what will catch my eye, rather than sticking just anyone on my page. As much as I love Dan Bongino, his rants were a bit much for me this morning.

Lately, with all the craziness around me I have felt a great desire to get away. Even on the global prayer call, we've been counseled to get away and rest. I guess I just don't feel that missing out on the daily content and prayers warrants a time away, and I'm only listening in as an attendee, which I love being in the background. I did begin to think a bit about time away. When I was growing up here in Virginia there were a couple of places I loved to go, but I was always with someone. In New Mexico I could get alone and hide, escape from the phone and computer, but it's not so easily done here. I began to ask Abba one more time, until the next, "Where can I go? I belong no where, Lord! Where is my somewhere?!"

I'm sure God rolls His eyes when I say those things, but God's not like that, and He really does care about everything that concerns us. Sometime we burn out and need to actually disconnect and rest! It doesn't mean I can't or won't pray, rather I'd escape the hundreds of emails that come my way. Just now as I am writing those words, I felt such joy burst forth from me, and I began to sing "Forever He will be...the Lamb upon the throne. I gladly bow my knee...and worship Him alone." These are lyrics from All Heaven Declares by Noel Richards. The song reminds me that God fills our hearts with peace, even when war is all around us. Even Jesus had to get off by Himself to pray, and I often think, that is precisely what I need in order to decompress and hear His voice.

My reading for today takes me back to Psalms 119:73-96. The Psalmist begins with: "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments." It reminds me of Psalm 139 where David tells God that He has made us fearfully and wonderfully. So how can man question their Maker? Considering the make up of the human body is unquestionable proof that we were not a cosmic accident or mishap in space. No, we are God's creative masterpiece here to do His will. And that makes me so happy.

In planning the Emergency Jerusalem Summit that will be in Jerusalem next week, the ICEJ has been consulting with many pastors and ministries about attending the event. Today in the prayer call we were told that a Catholic priest had approached a member of the team about urging many to come together and work together, forgetting differences in theology. He said, "Whatever we call ourselves we need to work together." Of course he was talking about denominations and religious beliefs, so his point is well taken. The church does need to work together to combat the problems of our day, especially antisemitism. But the cost is dear, as aligning ourselves with the nation of Israel makes us a target. How did it get to this?! I have not been able to rally support for Israel, not even when there were still hostages involved. It saddens me how people tend to forget what is not right in front of them, and since the big news stations do not support conservative views, Israel being one, the coverage declines, and people forget. And when the fire gets too hot, they bow out. It's a good example of the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds. People tend to take the easy away around, but the Road Less Traveled is ignored. 

It made me think that we want something that costs us nothing. And we can use any excuse possible to justify ourselves. When King David took the illegal census of the nation, the people payed the price of his sin. God gave him three choices for punishment, and he chose to be under the hand of God rather than others. So the Lord sent a plague on the nation for three days:

"Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, 'Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand I pray, be against me and against my father's house.' And Gad came that day to David and said to him, 'Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.' So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded." (2 Samuel 24:17-19). 

When David approached Araunah who owned the threshing floor and told him that he wanted to purchase the place, Araunah offered for him to take it. "Then the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you at a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." (2 Samuel 24:24). David knew the sin was his, and that the payment had to be paid by him. There is always a cost for disobedience, as there will always be consequences of surrendering our lives to Christ, but in the end He is victor! And the victory is ours! Hallelujah!!