Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words

We read about it in the Bible in the Old Testament. The Philistines and Israel were about to go to war and Israel’s King Saul and his troops were shaking with fear. They were waiting for their spiritual leader Samuel to come and plead for God’s help. But Samuel didn’t come. So, contrary to God’s instructions that only a priest was to offer the sacrifice, Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

“What have you done?” asked Samuel. Then Saul explained: the men were scattering, Samuel had not come, and they could see the Philistines amassing their forces. “I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering,” he explained.

“You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

Look at the steps to Saul’s downfall. First, he focused on the circumstances rather than God. Then he let those circumstances compel him to take matters into his own hands. Of course, since hindsight is 20-20, it’s easy for us to see that Saul should have waited, trusting that God had everything under control. Instead, he chose to disobey Him.

But before we criticize Saul too much, let’s look at our own lives. When God doesn’t bail us out when we think He should—when He doesn’t show up on our time schedule–don’t we also tend to take matters into our own hands? Like Saul, we feel compelled to answer our own prayers.

Sometimes we just can’t see God for all the problems. David once asked God, “Why, O Lord, do you…hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). Yet just a bit later, David acknowledged that his times were in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15).

May God give us patience to wait for His divine timing in our lives. He will answer our prayers—if we will just wait on Him.