Monday 16th October
Don’t let pride or fear be our motivators
Saul had taken 3000 men from the Israelite army and separated them into two; he himself led 2000 men and gave his son Jonathon 1000 men. Jonathan and his 1000 men fought and won against the Philistine garrison, but Saul was the one who blew the horn and made people aware of this triumph.
It wasn’t Saul who led this army to victory but his son, and yet Saul could be heard announcing “his” victory. This wasn’t uncommon for the time; however, Saul’s actions show us how he chose his own pride over God. The bible tells us that Saul had been ruling as king for many years at this point, it seems like Saul has forgotten who originally appointed him king in the first place. We should never take credit for somebody else’s actions, and remember to be humbled in our own actions. This way it reminds us to stay humble throughout our lives and to focus on who should be getting the glory.
The consequences to Saul’s announcements then meant that the Philistines hated the Israelites even more and so gathered an even bigger and stronger army in retaliation. The Philistine army was huge in comparison, and now the Israelites realised they were in a weaker position. They had to pull their army together to protect themselves. They were scared and some even started to run away and escape. They knew they were in trouble and in danger.
The fear they felt was greater than their faith that God was in control of the situation. They had been made aware by Samuel that Saul had been chosen by God to be their king, however their own human instincts were to hide or run away to protect themselves. The Israelites had started to lose faith in their leader to help guide them, thinking their leader was Saul and forgetting their leader was God.
As humans we sometimes forget to lean on God for guidance and help through difficult times, instead we sometimes try to go through things on our own which leads us to hide or run. The Israelite army forgot that God was on their side – we must remember that God is on our side and he will guide us.
Time to reflect…
1. Has there been a time when you have run away or hidden from a situation as it has become too overwhelming or you can’t see a way through it? What can we do in our daily lives that reminds us to rely on God before trying to do things alone without him?
2. Like Saul, we may all be guilty of allowing pride to take over in certain situations and “blow our own trumpets.” How can we humble ourselves in our day to day lives to mimic that of Jesus and reflect His light through our day to day lives?
Pause to pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for helping guide my life. Even when things are worrying or troublesome, help me and remind me to lean on you and to actively listen for your guidance. Help me to humble myself and not take pride in other people’s actions or to announce the good I have done, instead let the good I have done be seen as a reflection of Your greatness. Amen.
