Lucky Boots

Hey there, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled Lucky Boots was written by Tim Gustafson.

Too late. Tom felt the chilling click beneath his combat boots. Instinctively, he bounded away in an adrenaline-fueled leap. The deadly device hidden underground didn't detonate.

Later, the explosive ordinance disposal team unearthed 80 pounds of high explosives from the spot. Tom wore those boots until they fell apart. My lucky boots, he calls them.

Tom may have clung to those boots simply to commemorate his close call, but people are often tempted to consider objects lucky or to even give them the more spiritual label blessed. Danger arrives when we credit an object, even a symbol, as a source of God's blessing. The Israelites learned this the hard way in 1 Samuel chapter 4. The Philistine army had just routed them in battle. As Israel reviewed the debacle, someone thought of taking the Ark of the Lord's Covenant into a rematch.

That seemed like a good idea. After all, the Ark of the Covenant was a holy object. But the Israelites had the wrong perspective. By itself, the Ark couldn't bring them anything. Putting their faith in an object instead of in the presence of the one true God, the Israelites suffered an even worse defeat, and the enemy captured the Ark.

Momentos that remind us to pray or to thank God for His goodness are fine, but they're never the source of blessing. That is God, and God alone. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Samuel chapter 4 verses 1 through 11. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek.

The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about 4,000 of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Lord's Covenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies. So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord Almighty, who was enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. When the Ark of the Lord's Covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp? When they learned that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. A god has come into the camp, they said.

Oh no, nothing like this has happened before. We're doomed. Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines, be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men and fight. So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated, and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great. Israel lost 30,000 foot soldiers.

The Ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Let's pray. Loving Father, forgive us when we're tempted to put our faith in anything but you. Help us keep religious symbols and keepsakes in their proper perspective, using them as simple reminders to turn to you for our encouragement, hope, and strength. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Tabor, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.