Lessons from Saul and Samuel

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. I Samuel 15:24

Saul was given a battle plan by God and he chose to complete the part(s) that made sense to him. His disobedience was "caught" by Samuel and he attempted to rationalize his decision...ahem...disobedience. After stating the above, Saul asks to be pardoned and for Samuel to return with him to the people. Samuel explains that he cannot due to Saul's rejection of the word of the Lord. What's interesting is that Saul then asks Samuel to honor him before the people and return with him. Samuel chooses to do this and then completes the task that God had initially given to Saul.

There are a number of life lessons here. Two that I want to highlight.

1. How quickly we can scoff at Saul for his lack of faith and obedience. What was he thinking?!? He knew what he was supposed to do...God told him directly through a prophet! How naive and dangerous this line of thinking is...we may not have a prophet at our disposal but we have the Holy Spirit. I can identify times in my life when I have walked in obedience to a certain point and then, when it became uncomfortable or didn't make sense to me, I altered the pathway. Why did I do this? Is it because I lacked faith? Perhaps the opinions of others (which could also include me) somehow outweighed what God was saying? Was it due to immaturity? Could be any combination of the above. Regardless, it is sin. Isn't this what caused Adam and Eve to sin? They essentially believed that they knew better than God. Somehow, they had come upon some information that God must not have been aware of when he gave them the initial instruction. As absurd as that sounds, I know that there have been times in my life where my actions have represented the same attitude.

Thankfully, because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, I can repent and ask for forgiveness. It is due to His mercy and grace that I am forgiven. Thank you God! It is at this point that I am able to once again walk the path that He placed before me - this time, hopefully with unwavering obedience. My heart is filled with gratefulness to Him for loving me unconditionally as I mature. My prayer is for quick obedience with a passion to serve Him alone.

2. Note that Samuel chose to honor Saul before the people in spite of the sin. There wasn't any finger pointing...simply honor. He knew the consequences of Saul's actions but revealed them only to Saul - in front of others, he bestowed honor. May my actions show honor to all...even those that seemingly do not deserve it (trusting God's instruction regardless of what I see in the natural). He is the judge, not I. Even when God reveals something to me. I am to share it with that individual ONLY if that is part of His instruction (I may simply be instructed to pray). I need to be obedient in that and then my responsibility is to HONOR that person before men. This "person" could be my husband, children, other family members, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, neighbors, and even strangers. How different our world would be if we all simply HONORED one another.

Lord, help me to fully walk in obedience to YOU and to honor all.