Pastor Laura at The Way Middleton Church is doing a summer series on David. I am loving it! A couple Sunday’s ago, she delved into Saul’s attitude and why it led him to be removed as king over Israel and why the Spirit of the LORD departed from him. During her message God had me key on three things. I asked her if I could use some of her thoughts in a few devotions and she agreed.
The first thing that stood out to me was Saul’s accusation, “You did not come” (or Excuses, Excuses). This was out of 1 Samuel 13. Saul and his army were facing a battle against the Philistines who were described as “thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude.” [vs 5 HCSB]
Saul had been instructed to wait seven days for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifice for the battle, but he increasingly grew impatient. Eventually, as he watched his own army grow discomfited in the situation, Saul took things in his owns hands (Pastor Laura’s point) and assumed the privileges of the priests and offered sacrifices. That’s when Samuel showed up.
When questioned by Samuel about what he had done, Saul tried to put the blame on Samuel … “you did not come ….” [vs 11 HCSB]
Those four words, “you did not come” resonated in my soul. I know as I look back that many of my issues and problems were because I thought God was late. He was not going to come in time, so I needed to do something – like Saul did, only to find that God was not late at all. He was operating within His timeline, not the one I set for Him.
I am sure that much heartache could have been avoided had I just waited a little longer and allowed Him to move on my behalf. How much peace did I forfeit?
Thankfully, God did not give up on me. Through His Holy Spirit, He patiently taught me (and is still teaching me) how much better it is to wait on Him! His answers are always better than mine.
