I remember eyeing it every time I was at the five & dime. There were blue ones, pink ones, and green ones. The rabbit’s foot I wanted was the big white one, but it cost 59 cents; I would have to save up for it.
In the early 60’s I collected glass soda bottles and redeemed them as a means of supporting the dreams and wishes of this then eight-year-old. I have to say I was quite good at it. It would always amaze the owner of the drive-in-grocery just how many soda bottles a kid could haul in on a 20” junkyard bike.
It was the first day of school, second grade, and I was ready. My efforts to secure the big white rabbit’s foot had been successful. I now proudly wore it on my front right belt loop, it was almost manly (Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were heroes then). Just the thought of that shiny brass chain made me hold my head a little higher.
I honestly don’t remember what anyone else thought about my rabbit foot; I have never been into fads. All I knew was that if you stroke a rabbit’s foot while making a wish, it would surely come true. I was now in possession of the best good luck charm a kid could own.
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That memory had been tucked away deep in the recesses of my mind until just recently. The Lord began to show me a parallel connection between my childhood desire for “luck” and my adult pursuit for a sense of wellbeing. It now seems as I look back on the many years that I have been a Christian, many times Jesus has been my ‘rabbit’s foot.’ This was not my conscious or purposeful intention, more a lack of maturity on my part. God is calling all of us to new levels of maturity, and as this comparison has applied to my life, I present it to you, so you too may do a little soul-searching.
God will orchestrate circumstances in our lives to give us the opportunity to turn to Him. These turns in the road are called bad luck by some, others call it fate. Whatever you call it, where do you turn to get help in times of trouble?
Our western culture has taught us to be self-reliant to the extent we often reach the end of our rope, or we find ourselves boxed into a corner. For most of us, it is extremely difficult to ask for help until it is too late and things are really a mess. Finally, in our desperation, we turn to whatever salvation we feel we can depend on to bail us out.
For many, Jesus has become kind of a good luck charm that we pull out when we get into a “situation.” God wants us to become dependent on Him to meet our needs on a daily basis, not just in times of crisis. His wants us to move beyond a “rabbit’s foot” relationship that many of us have with Him.
Throughout the Bible, God makes it very clear that He wants us to have peace, to live without fear, to lighten our burdens, and to have a joy that passes our natural understanding. Jesus spoke of an abiding rest that He has for those who follow Him. There is a place beyond the realm of crisis, out of the reach of despair and fear. Psalms 91:1-2 states: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress: My God, in Him will I trust.”
Ultimately, as we begin to dwell in the secret place, we will mature in our daily relationship with the Lord. Through reading and meditating on His written Word, we can know Him intimately and learn of His plan for our lives. It is then we will move into a new way of living and one day realize that our Lord is much more than a rabbit’s foot.
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Good luck is not a Biblical concept, nor is bad luck. Luck implies an element of chance or coincidence, and that does not fit with any scriptural premise. However, God does endow us with favor, blessing, joy, good gifts, long life and much more. Similarly, the Bible has a lot to say about curses, but not like the curses or spells found in the typical horror movie or fairytale. Deuteronomy 28 is the seminal discourse on how and why God blesses, as well as how and why we bring curses upon ourselves.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 describes how God blesses those who “…fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands…” NLT
Notice that Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is worded differently. “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you…” NLT
When we choose to live outside of God’s commands, we expose ourselves to the “wiles of the devil.” Refusing God is rebellion in the first degree, which triggers the default setting to self-imposed curses or “bad luck.” A rebellious demeanor is prideful self-sufficiency in action. We see this all around us. The teenager who defies his parents meets trouble head on, hence the term “looking for trouble.”
Let’s be clear. God does not “put” curses on people. He says, in Deuteronomy 15-68 that if you refuse Him, you walk headlong into your fate through your self-imposed rebellion. The curses await “to overwhelm” those who turn away from God’s ways.
However, and very interesting, God implies that He is personally involved when He blesses those who obey Him. Deuteronomy 28:1-2: “…the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.”
Deuteronomy Chapter 28 will give you a foundational understanding of how we relate to God. He knows us better than we know ourselves; He has good plans for us. He made us, He designed us, so he knows how we function best. God does not give us rules and boundaries to diminish our potential. Any good parent knows that rules and boundaries provide safety and protection for their children. Likewise, a good parent also wants his children to excel and reach their full potential, so does God.