In 1 Samuel 4, Israel lost a battle against the Philistines. So, somebody comes up with the idea to get the ark of the covenant. Now, the ark represented God’s presence among the people, and when they brought it into camp, everybody started shouting, and the ground shook. Even the Philistines were afraid.
Israel had to have thought, We've got them. But they didn't.
Israel lost the battle, and the ark was captured.
A few chapters later, in 1 Samuel 7, the Philistines are coming again. But this time, Israel can't get the ark, so they tell Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us.”
Do you notice the difference?
Before, the Israelites treated the ark almost like a lucky charm. It doesn't feel like they were asking what God wanted. They had already decided what they wanted, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The text doesn't tell us why the battle in I Samuel 4 happened; some have thought the Philistines started it. But it does seem the Israelites expected God to fall over just because they brought the ark.
Now, we don't have arks, but we can do that too.
If we're not careful, we let all our right religious things make our faith into a formula for getting the life we want. Sometimes, our prayers sound less like, “God, what do you want?” and more like, “God, here's what I want. Please sign at the bottom.”
Instead of letting faith be a relationship, we treat it like a holy cheat code, a life hack.
There's nothing wrong with asking God to go with us where we've decided to go. But there's also a difference when we're willing to ask, "God, where are you going, and how can I go with you?"
Remember, we don't carry God. God carries us.
Stay blessed...john
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