Israel under the Judges had a rollercoaster relationship with God. They never sought God until there was one form of trouble or another. Each time they deserted God, they were given over to an enemy nation. In their oppression they would return to God; then a deliverer would be sent to them. It was in this light that we find characters like Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Jephthah, Samson, and others. After the death of each judge, they would regress again until another trouble stirred up. For them God was an emergency button.
“Our service of God must never be conditioned by seasons; it has to be a full time proposition.”
Many believers today do not fare better than Israel of old. We have imbibed wrong notions of God, seeing Him as nothing more than a genie. Erroneously, we have come to believe that God exists for us rather than the biblically stated truth that all things were made by Him and for Him. We wait until problems of life loom large, and then we begin to run to God. No doubt, problems have a unique way of stirring people up and turning them to ardent seekers of God. However, this is not what God is looking for. He wants people to seek His face all the time. God is desirous of seeing the Daniel generation again. Daniel was so accustomed to seeking God before problems. The king testified that he sought God continually. Our service of God must never be conditioned by seasons; it has to be a full time proposition.