Waiting on God's Timing
Verses: 1 Samuel 13:10-13
"Just as Saul was finishing his offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel asked, 'What have you done?' Saul replied, 'When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, "Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor." So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.' Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.'"
In this passage, we see Saul, the king of Israel, making a grave mistake. He had been waiting for Samuel to arrive and offer a sacrifice to God, but when Samuel was delayed, Saul took matters into his own hands. He offered the sacrifice himself, even though it was not his place to do so. This was a foolish thing to do, and Samuel rebuked him for it.
The main message of this passage is not to hurry in God's business when God does things slowly. Saul was a novice in kingship and wanted to hurry to the conclusion. He was a conclusion-oriented person who wanted to get things done somehow. But God is not in a hurry, and we should not be either. When God is slow to act, it is because He is working out His plan in His own time.
As servants of God, we should not go to extremes to keep people with us or to achieve our goals. We should not try to force God's hand or hurry Him along. Instead, we should wait on His timing and trust that He is working everything out for our good.
Saul's mistake was that he did not wait on God's timing. He took matters into his own hands and did what he thought was best. But this was not God's plan, and it ended in disaster. If only Saul had waited for Samuel to arrive and offer the sacrifice, things might have turned out differently.
As we reflect on this passage, let us remember to wait on God's timing. Let us not try to hurry Him along or force His hand. Instead, let us trust that He is working everything out for our good, even when things seem slow or uncertain.
Prayer:
Dear God, help us to wait on Your timing and trust in Your plan. Help us not to hurry or force Your hand, but to trust that You are working everything out for our good. Give us patience and faith to wait on You, even when things seem slow or uncertain. Amen.