READING: 1 Samuel 13-14
Sometimes I fear I’m too much like King Saul in these chapters.
When the king was to wait for Samuel to come to offer a sacrifice to God in preparation for a battle, Saul grew impatient and offered the sacrifice himself — in disobedience to God’s plan. So great was the sin that God would take the kingdom from Saul. When he was confronted, though, Saul found others to blame: “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering” (1 Sam 13:11-12).
Apparently, it wasn’t Saul’s fault. His armies were leaving him. Samuel was late in arriving, it seemed. The Philistines were ready to attack. Saul had to do something, he must have thought. In his impatience, he made choices that led to dramatic and painful consequences. Later, he rashly required his army to make a oath not to eat on the day of battle, and that mandate led to their blatant sin against God.
I think about how many times I rush into a decision without waiting on God — and how often I so respond for the same reasons Saul did. I get alarmed any time things don’t fit together perfectly, when the plans seem to be falling apart. I’m so intent on doing well that I sometimes overreact when the troops begin going in a different direction. I get too stressed when the puzzle pieces aren’t fitting together like I think they should.
Then, I don’t like to wait, especially when it seems I have an acceptable answer for a problem. Why wait if we can do something now? Especially when it looks like the enemy might win, how much sense is there in waiting? We have to do something, right? I've learned, though, that sometimes that something, even when it seems to be the right thing (like Saul’s offering a sacrifice), leads only to further trouble. I think Samuel would ask of me too many times, “What have you done?”
Waiting — as hard as it can be — is smart. God’s timing is absolutely, always, perfectly right.
ACTION STEPS: Consider these steps:
- Be willing to wait on something today. If you have a tendency to try to “push things through,” be aware of your tendency — and fight against it.
- Ask God to make you wisely patient.
PRAYER: “God, I don’t want to act today without Your approval. Help me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Samuel 15-17