When God Is Just Our 911 Call

I have a functional relationship with my mechanic. The only time I call him is when my car breaks down. I never call and ask, "How's your day going? How are things at the shop? Do you guys need some pizza in the lobby?" I only call when I have a problem.

A few years ago I got a new primary care physician who turns out to be my son-in-law's dad's cousin's husband. Every once in a while he's at a family function. Two weeks ago we sat by the pool talking about trees and fruit and gardening. It was weird, because ours is a functional relationship. There's a difference between a functional relationship and a friendship.

God created us in the Garden of Eden for fellowship. But it's very possible to pray only in the hospital, only when a bill comes due that we weren't expecting, only when crisis comes, or only on Sundays. That's not unbelief. We still believe. It's what I'd call crisis theism: "I believe there's a God, and I'll pray whenever I need Him, but day to day I've got this." It's a prayer problem that needs repair.

The pattern

Othniel died at the end of verse 11. Verse 12 starts like this:

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. (Judges 3:12)

God had given them rest, but rest didn't produce loyalty. It produced short-term memory.

Does that verse mess with your theology? God strengthened the enemy. We have a very Americanized, sanitized theology that says, "God, You're not supposed to help my enemies." When the Moabites took over, somebody in a field or a blacksmith shop was surely asking, "Where was God?" The answer is that God was there, helping the Moabites. That's uncomfortable, but God's not going to let His kids live in rebellion. You might think God isn't present in your pain. Last time I checked, He's omnipresent. God's at work to bring you back, the way a loving father disciplines his children.

Eighteen years in timeout

So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them. (Judges 3:14–15)

Eighteen years! That's long enough to raise a child. How long are you going to stay in timeout? How long are you going to sit in the slop with the pigs before you come to yourself and say, "I should probably go home to my father"?

And were they really repentant, or did they just want to stop paying taxes? Don't we all? It doesn't sound like they were turning back to God. Here's what messes with my Western theology: God rescued them anyway. Their prayer was crooked and selfish, just a rescue prayer, and God still raised up a deliverer. I don't understand it either.

Don't stop praying in a crisis

I don't want anybody to walk away thinking, "I shouldn't pray when I'm in the hospital or when the check bounces." That's the wrong application. Keep that. But change the purpose of your prayer from rescue alone to restoration of the relationship. Peter prayed, "Lord, help me," and there are times we need a rescue prayer. Maybe the phone call from the doctor is what shows you how far you are from God.

And quit bargaining. Some of you are at church today because you told God, "If You rescue me, I'll go back to church," and now you're stuck here. God doesn't want a bargain. He wants a friendship.