June 9, 2022

Today’s reading: 1 Samuel 13:7-9

Taking Matters into Your Own Hands

We read in 1 Samuel 13:7-9:

As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. ⁸ Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 

This is one classic example of what it means to disobey Yahweh and take matters into your own hands. In Saul’s mind, there are a million reasons for him to be justified in giving the offering.

After all, the enemies were gathering against them, his people were scattered and afraid, Samuel was nowhere in sight, and they needed to give a sacrifice to God.

These were the words of Saul and his excuse (1 Samuel 13:11-12):

“When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, ¹² then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

In this life, things will not always go according to our plan. There are things that are just beyond our control. When this happens, our carnal nature seems to tell us to take action rather than wait upon Yahweh.

This is a fatal mistake. When God gives us clear instructions and we do the contrary simply because things are not going our way, that’s definitely disobedience and it will lead to dire consequences.

For Saul, if he just waited for one more hour, things would have been incredibly different!

We see how power corrupted Saul. Before being a king, Saul was somehow humble. Now that he is king, he wanted all the glory and would be more concerned with what people think rather than what God thinks.

As humans, we always wanted to be in control. The problem is the more we try to control things, the more they get out of hand. That’s what happened to Saul.

If we consistently obey God, trust in His timing, and have faith in his plans, things would go differently.

It’s time that we take the passenger seat and give the wheel of our life to the Almighty.

To learn more, please read, “How to Trust God Completely (Even in Difficult Times): 7 Steps to Take.”

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