God Desires Obedient Heart !!
Only two years into his reign,
Saul is faced with a critical test.
Confronted by a Philistine onslaught,
Saul enters the priest’s office at Gigal
& offers sacrifices which only a Levite
is permitted to offer, thus blatantly
disregarding God’s law. Samuel’s
announcement that God will take the
kingdom from him only spurs Saul on
to greater efforts at doing God’s work
but not in God’s way. By ignoring
Samuel’s specific command from
God to annihilate the Amalekites,
Saul seals the fate of his kingship.
Dear Lord, Thank You for lessons
in scripture from the story of Saul.
Thank You for being our Savior and
the reminder to be obedient to You.
Forgive us for the times when we
are disobedient to Your word and
when You speak but we don’t listen.
Forgive us for the times when doing
Your work that we choose to go
our way rather than follow Yours.
Help us to Aspire for Your Heart.
Help us to Wait for Your Timing.
Help us to Go for Your Way. Amen.
Lord, we’ll Wait Patiently for You:
Saul waited seven days according
to the times set by Samuel. But
Samuel did not come to Gilgal;
and the people were scattered
from him. So Saul… offered the
burnt offering… As soon as he had
(presented) the burnt offering that
Samuel came… And Samuel said
to Saul: You have done foolishly.
You have not kept the command
of the Lord your God. Now your
kingdom will not continue. The
Lord has sought for Himself a
man after His own heart (13:8-14)
Lord, we’ll not make up our own
solution when You require us
to wait and you didn’t answer by
the expected time. We’ll not allow
impatience to drive us to disobey
God’s instruction. Help us walk
daily to prepare us to cope well
when the pressure is on. Amen.
Lord, we aspire Having Heart for You:
Now the men of Israel were worn out
that day because Saul had made
them take an oath saying: Let a curse
fall on anyone who eats before
I have full revenge on my enemies…
But hungry as they were, they chased
and killed the Philistines all day…
growing more and more faint. That
evening they butchered the sheep,
cattle and calves but ate them
without draining the blood…Saul said:
Do not sin against the Lord by eating
meat with the blood still in it… And
Saul built an altar to the Lord, the first
one he had ever built (1S14:24-35).
Lord, pray that I will have a heart for
You and Your ways. For I don’t want
to be a person who shows love
for You with only words. Help me
to show it with actions, obedience
to Your laws and the way I live. And
Thank You for still loving me even
when I don’t do things right. Amen.
Lord, we aspire for Obedience to U:
(Samuel said): Go and completely
destroy the sinners, the Amalekites…
Why did you rush for the plunder?…
But I did obey the Lord, Saul insisted.
I carried out the mission he gave me.
I brought back King Agag, but I
destroyed everyone else. Then my
troops brought in the best of the
sheep & cattle… to sacrifice to
the Lord… But Samuel replied: What
is more pleasing to the Lord: Your
burnt offerings and sacrifices or your
obedience to His voice? Obedience is
far better than sacrifice (1S15:18-23)
Lord, work in me a heart of obedience
so that I can live a life that pleases U.
It’s easy to rationalise obedience
or attempt to chart my own course.
But You are Holy and You value
obedience above anything I can ever
give You. May my daily sacrifice to
You be a humble and Obedient heart
that U delight. In Jesus’ name. Amen.