Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Samuel – When patience runs out!

1Samuel 13v13 “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel said, “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.”

How do you respond to a rebuke? A rebuke hurts the pride in us. Our pride likes to think we know best. One of Solomon’s proverbs is, “Whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse … rebuke a wise man and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9v8-9) May we be wise people who accept rebukes and change!

I feel a bit sorry for Saul. He had started well, but he now faced the Philistines in battle, and Israel was outnumbered and out-tech’ed. Saul’s men were “quaking with fear” – many hid and many others escaped to safer ground. Good old Saul had followed Samuel’s instructions and waited 7 days for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifices to seek God’s favour. But Samuel had not turned up, and the longer he waited, the less men he had. So Saul did what he was not authorised to do and offered the sacrifice himself.

As a consequence, Samuel said, ‘You have acted foolishly, you have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.’” His kingdom would now be handed over to someone else who was “after God’s own heart”.

Saul was not patient enough to wait for God and his prophet, and so he was rebuked by God through his prophet Samuel. Saul offered his excuses, but they did not excuse his disobedience. It was now too late to exercise patience and trust God.

Where is God calling me to be patient today? Am I prepared to wait for God or am I going to act in my own way?

With love and blessing,

Roland