Over the last few months, we’ve looked deeper into Saul’s beginning as we read in 1 Samuel. We’ve seen how he was called from being a handsome nobody, to Samuel being led by God to anoint him, and the signs that he was given as confirmation of his calling to be king of Israel, and his initial response to keep the news to himself.
The next few chapters are a glimpse into Saul’s wild ride as he follows Samuel’s command in chapter 10:
“Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” 1 Samuel 10:7 (ESV)
I encourage you to take some time and read for yourself how God used Saul to rescue His people from devastating disaster. (1 Samuel 11)
This post, I’d like to focus in on the crucial last piece of instruction Samuel gave Saul before he left to encounter the 3 signs:
“Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.” 1 Samuel 10:8-9 (ESV)
This instruction brings us right back to where we started talking about Saul in 1 Samuel 13. As a refresher, Saul’s son, Jonathan, had defeated a group of Philistine troops and now “Israel had become a stench to the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 13:4)
The men of the newly enlisted Israelite army are fearfully restless and unraveling, as Saul is waiting for Samuel as he was told while the Philistines, who far out-numbered them, could attack at any moment.
So Saul decides to take matters into his own hands:
“Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:7b-14 (ESV)
Saul grew impatient and messed up. Which we’ve already talked about in my previous post: Ready, Set, Wait.
Now I want to look deeper into verse 14:
“The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:14 (ESV)
Samuel is referring to David, the lowest-on-the-totem-pole shepherd boy after God’s own heart who would slay a giant and grow up to be one of the most well-known kings of Israel.
I want to look at a core difference between Saul and David.
I love reading the Psalms, as so many of them give raw windows into the heart and mind of someone after God’s heart.
In Psalm 143, David wrote:
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” Psalm 143:5-6 (ESV)
Notice David is taking an active part in his waiting on the Lord.
Where Saul put his energy into fixing what he thought should have been happening, David put his energy into remembering what God’s already done, and reminding himself He is trustworthy to follow.
Our souls grow weary as we walk through seasons of waiting and seeing nothing happening.
This is when our grip on choosing to wait for God’s way begins to weaken and slip, as Saul did.
So what can we do? How can we strengthen our grip on the one decision we know we trust and want to do, yet need strength and perseverance to follow through and hold true to?
We take a note from David.
Meditate on all that God’s done for you.
It’s not so easy to give up on Someone while you’re reminding yourself of how He’s come through for you time and time again in the past.
Later on in Psalm 143, David says this,
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!” Psalm 143:10 (ESV)
David’s crying out to God, “God, help me follow you!”
I know with all my heart that I want to follow God’s way above all else. But, my own strength is wavering, and my emotions are as unreliable as my circumstances.
I find myself constantly needing to cry out to God to help me follow Him.
And in His unrelenting goodness and faithfulness to care for me as His child, He reminds me of His promises that I already hold in my hand.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is talking with His followers about the Holy Spirit coming after He leaves: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26 (ESV)
It can be up to us to step in pursuit of remembering what God’s done for us, but we don’t need to fret over whether we will be able to remember what we’re supposed to or not.
That is a promise that God’s given us in the Holy Spirit. That He will be faithful to bring these things to mind.
In the heat of the moment, it’s as if Saul forgot everything God had done for him over the past couple of days. He had so much to recall to level his footing to wait for Samuel, and instead he leaned on his own wavering strength and succumbed to fearful impatience.
When we read through Saul’s early life and see how God had come through over and over and over just before this battle with the Philistines, it starts to look foolish and even unreasonable for him to not trust God to show up.
The same will happen as we look at our own lives. As we remember all that God’s done for us already, it refocuses our eyes and hearts on who God has been for us and how ridiculous it is to think He’s not going to show up this time.
When you feel like you are walking yet another countless mile on a road of waiting without seeing God move, remind your weary soul of this truth. And let your footing rest on the level ground David writes of as you lean on the Holy Spirit to remind you of countless ways God has already faithfully moved in your life.
From one of His children to another,
Christi
Thanks for the rem8nder!