Using God

Using God

Hook
It is possible to want what God can give us more than we want God Himself. We can turn prayer into a transaction, worship into a strategy, and even faith into a means of getting what we want. But God is not a means to an end. God is the end.

Scripture

“The messenger answered, ‘Israel scattered before the Philistines. The defeat was catastrophic, with enormous losses. Your sons Hophni and Phinehas died, and the Chest of God was taken.’ At the words, ‘Chest of God,’ Eli fell backwards off his stool where he sat next to the gate.” (1 Samuel 4:17–18)

Explanation
Israel had taken the Ark of the Covenant into battle because they believed its presence guaranteed victory. They were not necessarily seeking God; they were seeking what they believed God's presence could do for them.

They were about to discover a painful truth: God cannot be used.

God is not a spiritual weapon we carry into the battles of life to guarantee our desired outcome. He is not a formula, a shortcut, or a divine transaction machine. He is God.

God desires a relationship with His children. Everything He provides flows from that Father-child relationship.

The prodigal son eventually understood this. He remembered that even his father's hired servants had enough food, but when he returned, the father did not receive him as a servant. He restored him as a son. His greatest need was not the father's provision; it was the father's presence and relationship.

Israel had reduced the Ark to an object that could secure victory. And when Eli heard that the Ark had been captured, he fell backward and died. The tragedy was not simply that Israel had lost a battle. They had lost the symbol of the relationship they had taken for granted.

God wants relationship, not transaction.

Application
Ask yourself: Do I want God, or do I mainly want what God can give me?

Do I pray only when I need something? Do I seek God's presence only when I face a battle? Have I made worship a strategy for getting results?

God certainly provides for His children, but His greatest gift is Himself.

Stop treating God as a means to an end. Don't merely use His name to get ahead, get out, get healed, get promoted, or get what you desire.

Seek Him—not just His hand.

Reflection
What would my relationship with God look like if He gave me nothing I was asking for, but simply asked me to trust Him and walk with Him?

Praye
Father, forgive me for the times I have treated You as a means to an end. Teach me to desire You above Your gifts and to value relationship with You above what You can do for me. Help me to seek Your face, not merely Your hand. Amen.

Discussion Question
How can we tell when our relationship with God has become more transactional than relational?

Have a fruitful day.

(Dr.) Emmanuel Okoro
(aka Dr. Lift)

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