Day 77, or March the 18th. Leaders, be followers
where God's concerned. Our thoughts today are
from 1 Samuel chapter 13, verses 8 and 9. He
waited for seven days, the time set by Samuel,
but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's
men began to scatter, so he said, Bring me the
burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.
and Saul offered up the burnt offering. First,
the big picture surrounding these verses. Saul
hadn't been king very long before he started
to bypass God's guidance and substitute his own.
It was to be the ruin of him. Foolish actions
and unwise vows resulted in a dreadful word from
God to Samuel. Chapter 15, verse 11. I am sorry
that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been
loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.
Saul had done his best, but failed to grasp that
God wanted him to do God's will, not try harder
and work in his own strength. And now our action
step for today. Saul is about to fight the Philistines
and is waiting for Samuel to arrive to make the
appropriate sacrifices to God. Samuel doesn't
turn up on time, and the situation is beginning
to fall apart in the mind of Saul. So Saul takes
everything into his own hands and decides to
offer the sacrifices himself. Saul was a member
of the tribe of Benjamin, but the sacrifices
could only be offered by a priest from the tribe
of Levi. Saul simply takes the law into his own
hands and makes the offerings, and then Samuel
turns up. Saul had allowed circumstances to determine
his actions. It's a problem many of us experience
from time to time. Have you ever had one of those
days when you were firmly resolved to take a
particular course of action and it starts to
go wrong? Of course, there are times when we
need to be flexible, but sometimes we let other
pressures succeed in our lives when a gentle
self -reminder would help us firm up on where
we are going. Don't let others determine your
actions and reactions today. Stay in tune with
the Holy Spirit. and be swayed by him, not by
anything or anyone else.