When God Stops Listening

And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6

In my active addiction, it was common to have something happen that would make me fear that my drug use was going to be discovered. In my anxiety, I’d go to God, promise to change my ways, and beg forgiveness . . . If only you’ll protect me from consequences. Now I don’t know if God actively intervened on my behalf to give me another chance, or if I was simply being overly paranoid in the first place. The scare would blow over eventually though, as nothing happened and soon, I’d go back to my drug use. I do know that eventually, I realized that God must be growing tired of my empty promises. After a while, when I prayed, I began to feel a sense of God not listening. When I promised I’d change my ways, I gradually began to realize that I didn’t mean it and so, I couldn’t expect that God would believe me either. That was a scary place to be – to feel like God wasn’t even listening anymore.

That is where King Saul found himself in today’s passage. In the story, as Israel’s enemies – the Philistines – assembled for war against Israel, Saul recognized his need for God and turned desperately to him. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly (1 Samuel 28:5). Saul had been running from God for years though, doing his own thing, only turning to God when Saul needed him. So, finally, God had enough and stopped answering Saul. Saul repeatedly pretended to repent and follow God, but then, when the crisis passed, he’d return to his old ways. Finally, God just stopped listening and stopped responding. You’re on your own here.

God is merciful and gracious. He loves us and longs to live in a loving relationship with us. No matter what we’ve done, when we repent, he will forgive us. The problem is that once we realize this, we think we’ve found the loophole in God’s plan that will allow us to repeatedly do whatever we want and then ask forgiveness and avoid consequences. God may be patient, but he’s not an idiot. Like any good parent, he gives us a chance to repent but after proving our insincerity repeatedly, he recognizes that we’re only going to learn through consequence. And so, eventually he stops listening to our empty promises. You’re on your own here. And that is a scary place to be.