There Is No Substitute for God

Do you have superstitious friends? If you do, you are probably smiling right now because you think how funny they can be. Here is a guy who has a lucky rabbit’s foot so he doesn’t need a plan. There is a lady who has a bias so she doesn’t need knowledge. Here is Israel, God’s people, going to battle against Philistia, and they have the Ark of the Covenant so they don’t need God. That did not end well.

The Bible says the Ark of God was taken, and verse 11 says, “The two sons of Eli [the priest], Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.” When Eli heard the news that the Ark had been taken captive by the Philistines, he died. When his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, who was with child, heard the Ark was taken and that her husband had died, she named her child and then she died. What did she name her child? She named the child Ichabod [which means “no glory”], saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken.” That sums up the whole story.

Israel was superstitious. The reason they were superstitious was because they were substituting the Ark of God for God Himself. There is this psychological idea that we oftentimes substitute an easy answer for the real answer. We substitute the answer that is most readily available and makes the most sense with the limited knowledge we have for the real answer.

For example, if someone asks you, “Are you happy?” that is a big question, but we have some easy answers that end up being substituted for that big picture question. So, we think about what we just had for lunch and if we liked it or not. We think about how hot the day is. We think about how much money we have in our bank account at that moment. None of those things is irrelevant, but none of them is happiness, yet we substitute money, climate, or how much we enjoy something for if we are happy or not.

Douglas MacArthur said that in war there is no substitute for victory, yet in Israel’s case, they had substituted the Ark of God for God Himself, His literal presence. They said, “We have been defeated by the Philistines. Let’s take the ark because it may save us from our enemies.” It wasn’t that God might save them. It was “it” the thing may save us.

What is superstition? It is substitution. It is making a substitution of something false for something that is significant. When do we discover we are living on substitutes and not on God? It is when things get difficult or when things change. In Israel’s case, they were in battle against the Philistines and they realized they didn’t have God. Ironically, they knew they had lost the battle, but they did not realize they had lost God; that was the real problem. The problem was not the glory is departed from Israel because they lost the ark; it was the glory is departed from Israel because God is departed. They were superstitious. They thought they could put God in a box to control and confine God. They could do neither. Submission is power. It is when God controls, confines, and motivates us, when God has us. The bottom line is superstition is substitution. There is no substitute for God Himself.

First, there is no substitute for God. God is not a place. Now, they took the Ark out of Shiloh, the place God had chosen, and took it to the camp of Israel. When it got to the new place, there went out a great shout from Israel because they thought they were saved because the Ark was there. But their salvation was not a place or the thing that came from that place; it was a person.

I think about the Bill Rice Ranch. We have camp here throughout the year and also at West Branch in Arizona. I can think of a lot of people who have made life-changing decisions at camp. I can think of some rather prominent preachers who made significant decisions here at camp either as a camper or later as a preacher. I thank God for that. The Ranch is a special place to me. What is most important is not the place though, but the one working at the place.

My dad’s cousin when he went to a Bible college said to him, “Bill, the easiest place in the world to backslide is in a Christian college because you are swept along with the rules, codes, and spirituality of the school and maybe not tending to your own relationship to God.” So, maybe I am at a fellowship, church, camp, or college, and think, “I’m ok.” You aren’t seeking the answers from God Himself and the Word of God. You just know your group accepts this so you don’t need to think about it yourself. You feel safe that way. But there is no substitute for God Himself. He is not a place. He may use places, but He is not a place.

There is no substitute for God. He is not merely a thing. The Ark was gone, but God had been gone before the Ark. There are things we should treat with care. I think about my Bible. I don’t place my Bible on the floor. I can’t do it. If I have a stack of books, I don’t place my Bible on the bottom or even in the middle. I always put it on the top. Now is that a way of showing respect to God’s truth? Perhaps it is. Could that be superstitious? Yes, it could be. If I talk to a group of people and say, “Hey, how many of you have your Bible? Hold up your Bible!” and everyone cheers, that is great, but do you read the Bible, regard the Bible, and submit yourself to God’s truth? It doesn’t matter how much superstition you have in caring for the physical copy of your Bible if you don’t know the truth, love the truth, and have a dedication to seek the truth. There is no substitute for God Himself, not a place, thing, or person.

Eli the priest was gone. His wretched sons were also gone. The daughter-in-law of Eli was gone. The child that was left was named Ichabod, the glory is departed. The Ark of God was gone, but the problem was God Himself had departed. Israel knew when they lost the battle to the Philistines, but they didn’t know they had lost God Himself. Ironically, Israel and the Philistines had the different gods, but the same mindset about their gods.

Today, if you discover you are living on a substitute when things get hard, when you lose those things that perhaps subconsciously you have substituting for God Himself, let me encourage you that you can have God anytime and anywhere. You can have God right now, God’s grace, power, comfort and God Himself. You can have Him anytime and anywhere that God has you. May God help us not to substitute anything for Him. Superstition is just substitution. A rabbit’s foot for a plan, a bias for knowledge, some thing, place, or person for God. There is no substitute for God Himself and God is the one who can be real in your life today.