But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!” 1 Samuel 14:19

This phrase describes the urge we all feel when under pressure:  Don’t just stand there…do something!

The tendency to panic under pressure is universal. Much better advice would probably be don’t do anything…just stand there!  Things would have gone drastically better for King Saul of the Bible if he would have only just stood there.

Granted, things were bad for the Israelite people.  Saul was their first king, and they had an enemy that Scripture records had “as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore!” The Israelites were trembling with fear.  Saul needed God’s prophet, Samuel, to come offer a burnt offering and ask for God’s help. After seven days Samuel hadn’t shown up. “Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away,” so he disobeyed God and lit the fire himself. With that act of disobedience, Saul’s kingdom ultimately went up in flames.

In a later battle Saul called a priest for guidance. Scripture records, “But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder.  So Saul said to the priest, ‘Never mind; let’s get going!'” (1 Samuel 14:19)

Saul wasn’t willing to wait on God. Whether he panicked from fear or jumped into action because he thought he could handle things himself, Saul derailed the powerful plan that God had for his life. “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols,” Samuel told him. “Because you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:23).

Our takeaway?  In crisis, stand there and wait for God.