Tuesday 17th October
Being honest with God and ourselves
In these passages we see Saul starting to panic when Samuel hasn’t arrived after the 7 days as he had told Saul previously, his men are leaving and he knows the Philistines are waiting to battle. Saul decides it best to take matters into his own hands and offer the burnt offerings as he feels this is the best thing to do.
When Samuel arrives, he isn’t happy with Saul! When Samuel asked Saul why he had done this, Saul gave many reasons and excuses as to why he didn’t wait to complete the burnt offering as God had said. Samuel tells Saul “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you”. If Saul had waited as he was told then God would’ve kept his promise, instead Saul would now lose his kingship. Samuel had already warned the Israelites previously that if they and their king followed in God’s path, all would be ok, but if they didn’t “His hand will be against you” (1 Samuel 12: 15).
Saul decided to take things into his own hands instead of trusting in God and His way. Saul became impatient with God’s timing and when questioned, Saul made many excuses to justify his actions. Not only is a burnt offering a sacred sacrifice, Saul feels he can do this on his own without the help of Samuel. As we all know, God will often need us to wait and have patience. Not all prayers are answered within a few minutes or requesting God’s help. Even when God’s timing doesn’t fit into our busy lifestyles that are usually fast paced, we must remember to have faith in God and His will.
Similarly, when we do something that is wrong, we can be quick to think of excuses to justify our choices, rather than admit we have done something wrong. Being open and upfront to admitting what we did was wrong can seem daunting, but it allows us to realise that sometimes our impatient choices aren’t always the right ones.
Time to reflect…
1. How can we practice more patience in our day to day lives? We live in a time where things are so readily available and easy to access. What can we do to trust in God’s timing and remember not to rely on ourselves completely?
2. When we make mistakes, how can we swallow our own pride and admit we are wrong? Instead of justifying what we have done, what can we do to hold up our hands and say we were wrong?
Pause for prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to remember to have full faith in you and Your timing. When I feel the need to rely on my own timings for things, allow me to remember to trust in you completely. Forgive me for making excuses to try and cover my own wrong doings, instead of swallowing my pride and being honest with myself and with You. Amen.
