FEBRUARY 19, 2013
Wait
Read: 1 Samuel 13:7-14
Samuel said to Saul,
“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the
commandment of the Lord your
God, which He commanded you.”
—1 Samuel 13:13
In
an act of impatience, a man in San Francisco, California, tried to beat
traffic
by swerving around a lane of cars that had come to a stop. However,
the lane he
pulled into had just been laid with fresh cement, and his Porsche
911 got
stuck. This driver paid a high price for his impatience.
The
scriptures tell of a king who also paid a high price for his impatience. Eager
for God to bless the Israelites in their battle against the Philistines, Saul
acted
impatiently. When Samuel did not arrive at the appointed time to offer a
sacrifice for God’s favor, Saul became impatient and disobeyed God’s command
(1
Sam. 13:8-9,13). Impatience led Saul to think he was above the law and
to take
on an unauthorized position of priest. He thought he could disobey God
without
serious consequences. He was wrong.
When
Samuel arrived, he rebuked Saul for his disobedience and prophesied
that Saul
would lose the kingdom (vv.13-14). Saul’s refusal to wait for the
development
of God’s plan caused him to act in haste, and in his haste he lost
his way (see
Prov. 19:2). His impatience was the ultimate display of a lack of faith.
The
Lord will provide His guiding presence as we wait patiently for Him to bring
about His will.
Tune your anxious heart to patience,
Walk by faith where sight is dim;
Loving God, be calm and trustful
And leave everything to Him. —Chambers
Patience means awaiting God’s time and trusting God’s love.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
