#soap # 2 Samuel 11 ## Title: Setting Yourself Up To Win or Lose ## Scripture: (2 Samuel 11:1) “In the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.” (NET) ## Observation: Life is extremely unpredictable. There are so many things that happen that we do not have a way to forecast. It’s a lot like the weather. We can see trends and can watch the radar, but the wind can shift at any time. However, we can make general predictions, such as every winter, it is going to be cold. This is the same with life. While things change, we can make general predictions. In the text above, if David had gone out with his army, we can make a good prediction that he would not have had sex with Bathsheba. We can set ourselves up to win by doing what we know to do and being where we need to be. We have a higher chance of losing big when we put ourselves in places where we are more vulnerable to our weaknesses. ## Application: Set yourself up for victory by watching over where you spend your time and with whom. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for leading us every day.