Lessons from King Saul - Pt 3

So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 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, 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.” 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 13:9-14 ESV). Many years ago Mary purchased a plaque to go on my office wall. It was a reminder to me in many different ways. The inscription read: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Saul thought he was doing the right thing. Remember that he had already waited seven days. With the enemy looming around all over the place, they were surely seven very long days. Saul's men were afraid. Saul was most likely afraid. Saul wanted to protect his kingdom. He knew worshipping God was the way to go, so, instead of obeying Samuel's commands, he went ahead with the burnt offering. So why was Samuel so harsh in his reprimand? As long as you intend to do right, you don't really have to obey God do you? Isn't it what you wanted to do that really matters? Who’s perfect anyway? We can't always obey God, can we? Shouldn't Saul be cut a little slack? He was just trying to protect his men. Yes, Saul had good intentions, but did he have “God intentions?” God wants commitment to His will. Jesus said, "not my will, but Thy will be done". God certainly wants no less from you and me. He expected full and complete obedience from Saul, and he expects it from us. Sometimes human nature takes over and we act in our own will. Saul felt "compelled" to take things into his own hands. It may seem natural from a world's eye view, but from God's perspective, Saul should have waited for Samuel to arrive. At the heart of this failure is a lack of trust. Saul simply did not trust Samuel or God to take care of him. It is easy in the middle of difficulty to rush ahead in fear. However, that gives the devil the victory. Waiting on God’s promise is the way to victory. Is there something you should be waiting on God for today?