LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF KING SAUL (PART 3).

TEXT "And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." (1st Samuel 13 verses 10 to 12, King James Version).

All along, we've been discussing how Saul deviated from his calling as king when he offered burnt offerings to God; a role that was the exclusive preserve of Samuel, the priest. According to our Scripture reading for today, the Bible says "that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, ..."

      Now, how come that it was “as soon” as Saul had made an end of offering the burnt offering that Samuel showed up? This is the question we need to ask ourselves. Why didn't Samuel come much longer after Saul had made an end of offering? This is often the case with Christians who are not patient. The devil has a way of making a mockery of their impatience. In the case of king Saul, the Bible says "that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, ..."

     Waiting is an indispensable Christian virtue. The problem with king Saul was that he was not patient, he couldn't tolerate Samuel not coming within the appointed time. Had he waited a little bit longer, he would not have committed the blunder of stepping out of his role as king to offer a burnt offering to God.

      Have you ever been confronted with a situation that is similar to the one under discussion? Do you realize that in all of these, God was watching to see what king Saul would do in the face of Samuel's delay to arrive as appointed? Would he exercise a calm repose and trust God to superintend over the seeming dangerous situation before him? Or would he act out of fear seeing that Samuel delayed coming within the days appointed, with the people scattered from him, and the Philistines having gathered themselves together at Michmash?

     Unfortunately for king Saul, he chose the latter option. He offered the burnt offering in the place of Samuel, thereby signifying that he had little trust in God's ability to superintend over the ominous situation that was before him. According to him, "Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, ... I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." (see 1st Samuel 13 verses 11 to 12). From this, it's obvious that king Saul acted out of fear instead of standing and trusting God to defend him.

     To the one reading this devotional this morning, the question that I put before you is this: can you trust God to take care of your seemingly ugly and dire situation and refuse to act in fear? Remember that fear is a torment from the devil and its ultimate aim is to shift you out of God's will. The Bible says in 1st John 4 verse 18 that "... He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Remember always that you are the object of God's love, so much that He will not stand by and allow evil to come upon you. In life, may we resolve to keep trusting God, even in the face of the most dismal or desolate circumstances that may come our way, in Jesus name.

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to trust in Your ability to save me to the uttermost and to see me through the problems that I face in life, in Jesus name