God is not a lucky charm

You read it right! God surely is not a lucky charm. Problem is, sometimes we act like He is. In fact, there are different people in the Bible that have acted according to this wrongful belief.

I read 1 Samuel 4 not long ago. That chapter made me realize how we use God for our own goals and desires. There are moments in our life that we even get this weird idea of encasing God in an object. For example, we kneel before a cross in the church thinking —perhaps not consciously— that we will get closer to God than if we kneel in our bedrooms. The cross is a daily reminder for us, and an important one. Don't get me wrong. Nevertheless, thanks to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we can talk with God anywhere, anytime.

At some point, the people of Israel came to the conclusion that the ark was God. This affirmation may sound outrageous, but bear with me. To put it into context, the Philistines decided to battle Israel. During those times, Samuel was growing to be a critical person that would help point the people of Israel to God. Unfortunately, the time for that still hadn't come. The Philistines waged war in one of those eras when Israel's heart was not in the right place. Israel even forgot who God really was.

Let us read a bit of 1 Samuel 4:

3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 1 Samuel 4:3-5 (KJV)

The people of Israel were overjoyed! After all, the ark was with them, and surely God would bring victory to them! Right? Later on, we know what actually happens:

10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. 1 Samuel 4:10-11 (KJV)

To see the whole picture, I encourage you to read at least from 1 Samuel 1 up to 1 Samuel 6. God used this situation for the good of Israel. Still, that does not take out the fact that the people made a mistake due to a misconception.

So, what happened here? They simply just brought the ark. Yes, of course God dwelled in the ark, but He's way more than just the ark. The problem here is that nobody thought of seeking God. Prior to this moment, we have so many examples in Judges, Joshua and the Pentateuch warning us about making decisions on our own. In times of wars and battles, it was vital to ask God what to do, how to proceed. Otherwise, Israel would fail and lose thousands of people.

Still, they decided that bringing the ark was enough. We better not mock them for that, because we also fall into that trap. We do take God for granted and think that He is going to do something without even asking Him for direction. I mean, Jesus multiplied food, so obviously He's going to do it for tonight's dinner, right? And I don't even need to ask Him! God has freed His people in so many wars, so I just have to jump into the battlefield, and He'll bring victory to me, right? The Holy Spirit has spoken through me to bring encouragement to other people, so I better just speak up all the time, right?

Well, no. We seek God. We listen to Him. Then, we do what He says. We serve Him, not the other way around, even though He's so loving that sometimes He decides to wash our feet.

God is able to save His people in times of war, but He is more than that. God is able to heal, but He is more than that. He is able to provide for anything we need, but He is more than that. He is God Creator, our Lord, our King, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend, our Provider, our Healer, our Heavenly Father, and still much more than that! Therefore, may we always seek to do His will, not our own; in His time, not ours; where He calls us, not where we want; and with whom God leads us to be with, not the ones we feel more comfortable.