1 Samuel 13-14 | Your Plan Or God's

The great temptation to man is to live independently from God. To devise his own plans and carry those plans out in his own power. This lifestyle is disastrous, of course, because man was not built to function properly without God. We were made to run on God, as C.S. Lewis said, and anything else simply will not work.

SAUL’S MISTAKE

The first King of Israel, Saul, is Exhibit A in this type of living. He had gone to face the Philistines with his army. This moment was Saul’s first test to see how he would make decisions—his way or God’s?

He was waiting for Samuel, the priest, to come, which was God’s plan. But Saul got impatient. He would not wait for the man of God but quickly made a sacrifice to God, which was Samuel’s job. This sacrifice was a mere ritual to Saul, but it was the path to God’s presence and instruction being with him and his army. Saul didn’t think he had time to wait for God. He just wanted to fulfill his agenda and get the job done. He took matters into his own hands and devised his own plan.

When Saul arrived (immediately after Saul’s impatient sacrifice), he said, “What have you done?” Saul explained that he had to go ahead because the time was short, and the people were leaving. It was a LOGICAL step to Saul, but not a spiritual step. Samuel responded with this telling statement.

Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

WHERE’S YOUR HEART?

Saul’s impatience was not the issue. That was just an action that came from the position of Saul’s heart. He was not a spiritual man. Not a man interested in waiting and listening to God and then cooperating with God’s instructions. And this heart revealed that he was not fit to lead God’s people.

Saul saw it as his kingdom, not God’s. A kingdom led by Saul’s ingenuity, not God’s wisdom. God wanted to lead the people Himself, and the only way this could have been accomplished was to have a leader who would listen to Him earnestly, wait on Him entirely, and obey Him explicitly.

It would be wise to examine the position of your heart. Are you gladly submissive to God? Are you one who wants to follow Him fully? Are you interested in God’s agenda solely, or are you running off to do your own? Does your heart say, “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,” or are you building a kingdom for yourself? Only those who long for God’s leadership and are willing to wait for Him are fit to lead God’s people. Nothing else will do.

Father, show me my heart. Do I have a heart for you? Am I interested in Your plan or merely my own? Do I trust my logic in situations or understand my weakness and wait on You? Purify my heart, Lord, and make me a man who lives by every word that comes from Your mouth.