The Old Testament tells us that God’s chosen people, the people of Israel, were very much like many people today, they were back and forth in their allegiance to God. They were hot for Him one minute, and cold toward Him the next. He had protected and provided for them beyond anything they could imagine. He was with them in battles against other nations and caused them to be victorious on every hand, but when they turned their backs on Him, they fell into utter darkness and destruction. Their disobedience to God caused them to be defeated by the Philistines. As if this wasn’t enough, the Philistines captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant, where the presence of God would dwell with His people.

The Ark of the Covenant is also known as the Ark of God. It was built by Moses, God’s servant who led the children of Israel out of the tyranny of Egyptian slavery. God gave Moses specific instructions on how to build the Ark of the Covenant, and when it was completed, the Israelites carried the Ark with them as they wandered in the wilderness. The Ark of the Covenant was built to hold the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna. This manna was food of perfect nourishment that God rained from heaven while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

Many curses fell upon the Philistines because they had taken the Ark of the Covenant, so much so that they eventually gave it back to the people of Israel. After this, Samuel, God’s prophet, told the Israelites in 1Samuel 7:3(NLT), “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” The people did as Samuel said and were successful against the Philistines in battle, however, they were upset with Samuel’s sons, who Samuel had appointed as judges. They saw that the other nations had kings and they wanted one as well. They no longer wanted to be subject to God’s sovereignty and asked his prophet, Samuel, to take their petition for a king before God. 1Samuel 8:6-7(NLT) states, “6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance. 7“Do everything they say to you,” the LORD replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.”

The Old Testament is packed full of examples of extraordinary miracles and exploits that God performed. It reveals God’s overwhelming and limitless power but seeing His miracles and witnessing the magnitude of His power did not cause the hearts of His people to change. Samuel delivered God’s warning to the people about what they’d be getting into with this “king” business, but they ignored God’s warnings. They wanted what they wanted, even if it meant going against God’s Will for them.

The presence of God abided with the Ark of the Covenant. Those that God had appointed as His priests had to be sanctified according to God’s standards to go near it. There in God’s presence, His anointed ones could receive Heavenly Father’s life-preserving instructions and guidance, and they would deliver this Word to God’s people. The Ark was housed in a portable tabernacle, and again, the Israelites would take it with them wherever they went. Those of us living in Christ today have a much deeper and intimate closeness to God. Because of the finished work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we do not need a temple or tabernacle that is man-made. The presence of God is within every born-again believer, and our bodies are His living temples. 1Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT) states, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

The Israelites did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit. They were servants, but because of the accomplishment of Christ, God has given those living after the ascension of Christ the extraordinary gift and privilege of being His children. He is our Father and we have His seed, the Holy Spirit, living within our body temples. But sometimes, we do not honor our temples as we should. We vacillate in our commitment to God, just as the Israelites did. We sin against our body temples, and because we haven’t used our time wisely to study God’s Word and build our faith in Him, we become overwhelmed by problems in life. This can really do a number on our believing, and many of us shrink back into old and destructive habit patterns. 

A lack of faith causes us to miss God’s guidance through His Holy Spirit. We’re like the children of Israel because we want what we want and expect God to tag along with our plans. Spiritual maturity should cause us to recognize that it is unreasonable to expect God’s rewards when we will not do what He requires. God is our Creator, our Abba Father, but many believers have allowed the world to convince them that they can have joy outside of God’s joy—that they can find fulfillment and meaningfulness outside of God’s plan and purpose. This is not the truth. Like the Israelites, we look at others in the world and want what they have. We think it will fill the voids in our souls. This search to fill our voids is very often the thing that leads us outside the Will of God. It becomes a personal agenda that isn’t aligned with God’s agenda.

When we begin to travel within the boundaries of our own personal agendas, we lose our way because we’re traveling in the wrong lane, without any signs or directions. We recognize that we’re out of bounds, but we’re adamant that God should follow along. It’s in this state that we will ask God for signs and symbols. We want Him to confirm that our wrong lane is okay. What’s missing is the humility and obedience to do what He says. Proverbs 3:6(NLT) commands us to “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Heeding this verse requires our total surrender, but quite often this isn’t a part of our plan. We already have our minds and hearts made up about what we want, and we’re intent on pursuing our own agenda. We’re asking God to cosign our plans instead of waiting patiently for guidance in His plan for our lives. We don’t realize how out of order we are, but we must pray to come into consciousness about it.

God is God all by Himself. He doesn’t need anything from anyone to be who He is. We don’t get to tell God what to do, and this is a tendency that many believers have. The plan for our individual lives belongs to Him. He knows every detail of His plan for us, and He knows every detail about our makeup. He knows what He’s appointed us to do. He knows how we should do it, and He knows how to help us carry it forth. God is brilliant beyond brilliance! He knows what we’re going to do even before we do it. So, there’s no way to surprise Him. He can take our very worst mistake and cause it to work toward our good. He is unwavering in His commitment to helping us recognize who He is, and what He can do.

Genesis 2:19 tells us that it was God who brought the animals to Adam for him to name each one. It was God who made Eve, the first woman, and then brought her to Adam. These are the precedents God set from the very beginning. He’s the One with the mastermind of supreme intelligence, and we’re the followers. No matter how intelligent or brilliant we believe ourselves to be, we will, and forever be, followers. Life on earth presents the opportunity to choose who we will follow. This was the ultimate question before the Israelites, and they chose not to follow God. In effect, they denied their requirement to have faith in His supernatural power. They didn’t want to have faith in God, but instead wanted to put themselves under the authority of a mere mortal. Sadly, humanity has continued this oppressive trend.

God’s sovereignty requires us to change the dynamics of our relationship with Him, and change lanes in our lives. Only He can fill the void in our souls, and He can never be put in a position of second in command. True respect and reverence for who our Heavenly Father is will be evidenced by believing and trusting Him with our whole hearts. He is the Provider of all joy, love, peace, happiness, and fulfillment. It’s futile to search outside of Him for treasures that can only be found in Him. Looking outside of God for anything only wastes time, stamina, and momentum on this Christian journey. Stamina and momentum, we can regain, but time is lost forever.

God has given us new life through the sacrifice and resurrection of our powerful Lord, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:21(NIV) tells us that He will “equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” This must be our continual prayer. Problems and tribulations may get us down, but through Christ, God makes it possible for us get up and get moving in His Will. Life is indeed precious, and it is meant to be lived in Christ totally and completely. Don’t allow the devil to steal any more of your time and energy. Philippians 2:13 tells us that God is working in us both to give us desires and to empower us to do what pleases Him. Life has a way of revealing when we’re traveling in the wrong lane. Changing lanes to God’s agenda and being obedient to His Word will keep us on track with the rewards He has in store for our lives. ■

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

“Changing Lanes”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.