Since God created Adam and Eve, people have not really changed much. Many people have lived and died since the first man and woman. As you study the Book of Judges, you will think that you are studying contemporary "human behaviour." It is sad that the spiritual lives of most Christians are exactly like the spiritual lives of the children of Israel in the Book of Judges. How is that you may ask?
While everything is going great in your life, God slowly stops being your top priority. He often gets put far down the list of priorities. You quit praying every day, having that meaningful time alone, just you and the Lord. You quit reading your Bible every day. Going to church is not a must any longer. Allowing God to use you to bless others with your life isn't a burning desire.
As God plays less of a role in your daily life, you slowly start making choices that you would not make when you are in that close, daily relationship with Him. At the time, theses choices seem harmless. As the days go by, you are making more and more choices that are not pleasing to God. You know this, in our heart, but you justify it by telling yourself that you deserve to have some fun, to do what you want to do. Slowly over time, it is no longer what God wants from your life, but only what you want.
Then suddenly one morning you wake up and your life is a mess. You realize that sin always has consequences. There is a price to pay and it is costly.
The Bible tells us that Satan comes to "kill, steal, and destroy." When you forget God, when you quit making Him the head of your life, when you put God on the shelf because you think that you don't need Him, you have opened the door for Satan to come in and destroy you! ?Trust me, at first it won't be anything that bad. Satan is the great deceiver. He will deceive you into thinking that you don't need God. It is your life and you should do whatever you want. The longer that we live without God, the more choices that we make without praying, the deeper in sin we get. Sin is likening to quicksand, we sink slowly, and when God tries to get our attention, we ignore Him and sink deeper still.
It is only when we are facing insurmountable odds, only when we have hit bottom, only when life is crashing down all around us that we finally decide to cry out to God. Remember the story of the prodigal son. He had to lose everything, and be living in the worst conditions imaginable until he went home to his father.
In our desperation we go to God, repent, ask His forgiveness and rededicate our lives to Him. Does that mean all of our problems go away overnight? No! Our problems weren't created overnight and they rarely go away overnight.
Now what happens?
We have cried out to God, He is back in our lives once again giving us the hope and strength for each day. We can now move forward to deal with the consequences of our ungodly choices with His help. We can look forward to waking up each morning, knowing His peace, His joy and the abundance that this life can offer. Many people however, like the children of Israel in the Book of Judges, will sadly start to forget God again and the cycle will be repeated all over.
We need God on the mountaintop, just as much as we need God in the valley!
We all know to call on the Lord in our time of trouble, but do you call on God at other times?
In this life we will always have trials, no matter how close we are to the Lord. We all have to fight the day-to-day issues in this sinful world. We can't escape those things, but when we stay close to God each day, He can help us to deal with them.
Call on Him every day. Keep Him first at all times. God has revealed to us today a common trap, known unto man, from the beginning of time.
Remember to call on Him not only in your time of need, but at all times!
Major Grayling Crites is the commanding officer and pastor of the Salvation Army's Thompson Corps at 305 Thompson Dr. N.
