I Samuel 13

Saul has only been the king of Israel for two years and he antagonizes the Philistines by attacking Geba and killing one of their leaders.  Tens of thousands of Philistines seek revenge on Saul and his band of 2000 soldiers.  Saul is shaking in his sandals while waiting for Samuel, the priest, to make sacrifices to the Lord on his behalf.  Meanwhile Saul’s army is deserting him left and right.  What’s a leader to do when everything is going to pieces?  In desperation Saul decides to take things into his own hands and offers up the burnt sacrifice without waiting for Samuel to do it.  Just as the last bit of offering is smoldering away, up comes Samuel.  “What on earth are you doing?”  Samuel asks.  Saul gives one excuse after another for not following God’s command for the priest to offer the burnt sacrifices and ends with his faulty reasoning “I couldn’t wait for you any longer.”  Samuel’s response jumps off the page at me “That was foolish of you.”  He goes on to explain to Saul that if he had done what God had told him to do instead of rushing ahead, his throne would have been well established for a long time.  But because of Saul’s choices, God was already looking for someone to replace him and Saul had missed his golden opportunity.

How many times have I been a fool because I was impatient and wasn’t willing to wait and do things God’s way?  Far too many.  I keep thinking “I can handle this myself” and forge ahead, not letting God work things out.  I try to fix the world in my own power.  What a fool!  What on earth am I doing?  What great opportunities and rewards have I missed because I wasn’t willing to wait?  Psalm 27:14 says “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”   We don’t show our strength by handling the problems ourselves; we show strength when we wait for God’s timing and handle the problems as He commands.  “’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty”  Zechariah 4:6b