These thoughts are based on 1 Samuel 14 in the Bible.

I find 1 Samuel 14 a very interesting account as it shows how God will not be put in a box by human beings, no matter how great they think they are.

Jonathan, with his armour bearer, has just achieved a mighty victory for the people of Israel because by faith he stepped out believing that God would go before them and He did. The panic was sent to cause confusion and bring about a mighty victory!
So here is my thought…
Saul as the King has the appearance of having the presence of God with him contained in his religious box of ‘human tradition’. He has the Ark of God, which supposedly guarantees him victory and also keeps the people looking to him for success. However, Saul suddenly realises when a victory is taking place by the hands of some else that in fact all he has is an empty box of tradition. God has left the building! He is off working with someone else to bring about victory because of the state of Saul’s heart!

Sadly many people today are no different to Saul – they would rather have their religious box of tradition to try and impress and control people, rather than paying the price to keep their heart right with God! The really sad part is they think they are fooling the people, but the people are smarter than we think. The people know who is bringing about the victory, they know who is carrying God’s presence, they know who God has approved of and who He has rejected. That is why when Saul wanted to kill Jonathan for making him look bad the people rose up and would not allow such a course of action. They knew all Saul had was an old empty box of tradition, while Jonathan had God’s stamp of approval.

Religious people love boxes, they carry their own personal ‘Ark’ for the God they have created to suit them. God will not be confined to your or my box of religious thinking. He will find a willing heart that is soft towards him and then step out in faith to achieve his plans and purposes!

My Prayer: Father protect me from myself. Enable me to keep my heart soft before you so that I will never try and confine you to my religious thinking. Every time I start to build a religious box please break out of it in a spectacular way like you did with Jonathan to wake me up from my own self important arrogance! Shake our generation out of its new found religious box. Be the God I know you are!

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