Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Martin Wiles

Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo won the sixth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Tourrettes sur Loop in southeastern France in March, 2010. One year later he was dead.

Tondo was planning to compete in the Tour de France for his new Movistar Team, but as he attempted to open his garage door, his car rolled forward pinning and killing him. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

So was King David. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing (II Samuel 11:2).

Spring arrived. The time kings normally go to battle. But not David. When his troops moved out, he stayed in and took a roof walk. A beautiful woman bathing on a neighboring housetop caught his attention. Instead of turning away, he looked, lusted and then sent for her. The encounter led to an affair, lies, murder and the death of an innocent child. David was at the wrong place at the wrong time and made a poor choice.

God promises not to let my temptations be stronger than I can overcome with his power. But successful overcoming entails making sure I don’t intentionally put myself in situations I know will be difficult to resist.

I know my weaknesses. I’ve learned them through a lifetime of failures and successes. Staying away from devilishly enticing circumstances keeps me from the wrong place at the wrong time and from the sin that usually follows. Let God give you wisdom and strength to look away from sinful situations that draw your attention and toward his path of deliverance.

Prayer: Powerful God, when we find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, give us the fortitude to walk away.

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