We Cannot Manipulate The Presence Of God

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Recently I began studying in the first book of Samuel. Chapter 4:1-11 told an interesting story. Israel decided to fight against the Philistines but Israel was defeated loosing 4,000 men. They blamed the Lord for their defeat so they decided to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh to save them from their enemies (Verse 3). This ark represented the Presence of God. The two sons of Eli the priest, Hophni and Phineas were with the ark. But the Philistines encouraged themselves- even though they were afraid of the ark- and they defeated Israel and captured the ark.


They had blamed the Lord for their defeat and then tried to bring in the "Presence" of the Lord to win the victory. The truth of the matter is-- Eli's two sons were living unrighteous lives. Chapter 2:12 says they "were corrupt; they did not know the Lord." They were doing many vile things according to verses 12-17. In fact, the priesthood was in a backslidden condition. The very group that God had placed over the people to teach them the way of the Lord- were in a place where they needed to be taught. They were backslidden and were not following the Lord and therefore leading the rest of the people astray. Their answer was to bring in the ark which was a symbol of the Presence of God so that they could have the victory. But scripture tells us that God would not be manipulated to perform for backslidden Israel.


In many ways, the story still rings true today. Many Christians live unrighteous lives and when they find themselves in trouble they try to get "the Presence of the Lord" to defeat their enemies. It doesn't work. God will not be manipulated by sinful men. Hophni and Phineas were very ungodly and called upon God without any remorse or repentance. They just expected God to perform great things for them. First of all- God cannot and will not be manipulated. Secondly, if we really desire help from God- we must first make sure we are living a holy and righteous life. There is a call going forth from the throne of heaven for men everywhere to repent. Revelation 3:19 has the words of Christ: "...Therefore be zealous and repent." 
We must repent. It matters not how long we have been "saved", we need to live repentant lives daily. Even those in ministry. Especially those in ministry! Malachi 2:7 puts it this way: "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." (Also read verse 8) Those of us who are part of the ministry should be the first to repent. We must live holy and godly lives. The bar is raised. I become so burdened and concerned when I see members of the ministry living unholy and ungodly lives, never realizing that their lives are a reproach to God and they are on a downward spiral-- and  they are leading many others astray.


If we feel that we have nothing to repent about- we have to start by the fact that we are proud and in deception! We must ask God to open our eyes to faults, short comings, sins. True- no one is perfect. But we all have something to repent about if only our lack of love and compassion and then pray for the lost. If we think we are fine- then we must begin to pray for others- and when we truly begin praying for others, God will open our own eyes to areas that need change.


We cannot deceive ourselves into thinking that we can live as we please-with no responsibility or obligation towards God in our day to day lives and then when trouble falls- and it will fall-expect God to bail us out. He is a God of love and compassion- true. But He will not be manipulated into doing our bidding. If we think that then we are very much deceived and do not even begin to understand what a relationship with God is all about. He's not a lucky charm to pull out of our pocket when we are in trouble. He is not a magic wand to wave over our lives with some magical chant. He is so much more!


If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) He will more than come to our rescue, be our refuge and strength in times of trouble, our defender and shield. But if we think we can go about our lives as we please- never acknowledging Him in our daily lives and surrendering our will to Him, we are very sadly mistaken. He lives with those of humble and contrite hearts. (Isaiah 57:15)





Lord, help us to maintain holy and godly lives. Show us those areas of our lives that bring You reproach. Forgive us for trying to manipulate You into doing our will. We come before You, surrendering our will to Yours. We know that as we live holy lives before You, Your Presence will go with us. Let us say as Moses said: "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."

Exodus 33:15

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