Just Sprinkle Some God on It

And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 1 Samuel 4:3

When I approach any life problem or struggle, it’s my nature to first try to solve it my way. Only after multiple failed attempts will I finally take my vexation to God, asking that he fix it. Faith is often a last resort and when I do pray, I act like God is the magic dust that I can sprinkle on any problem, causing it to miraculously disappear. God is my Hail-Mary/genie-in-the-bottle that I pull out when all else fails. This version of faith believes that God exists to accomplish my will.

The delusion of this pseudo-faith is illustrated in today’s passage. In the previous chapter, God foretold that Israel was going to suffer for the ongoing sins of Eli’s (the priest) sons. In today’s passage, God’s judgment came to pass as Israel suffered defeat at the hands of the Philistines. Reeling from the rout and wondering why, Israel’s elders proposed that they should bring the ark of the covenant to their next battle. We just need to sprinkle a little God on our problem. That will fix it. Ironically, it was none other than Eli’s sons who accompanied the ark to the next battle, as Israel was once again soundly defeated, the ark was captured, and Eli’s sons were killed.

The elders must have asked themselves what went wrong. We pulled out our good luck charm. Why didn’t it work? The problem was that they viewed God as existing to accomplish their will. They understood faith to mean that invoking God’s name would miraculously solve any problem. What they should have done, was to go to God asking his will. If they had, they would have recognized that while Eli and his sons remained on the job, Israel was going to struggle. Faith didn’t mean going to God, expecting him to provide victory. Faith, rather, should have meant going to God, asking what he wanted them to do.

Whether I like it or not, God uses pain to shape me. So, when I encounter any trial, my first response shouldn’t be to attempt to solve it myself, or to demand that God fix it. Rather, my first response should be, What do you want me to do God? What do I need to change? The Bible doesn’t say that all bad things are caused by God just to teach me a lesson. The Bible does say however that God uses trials to change me. In the face of adversity, authentic faith goes to God, seeking his will, not mine.