Great People Don't Throw Pity Parties - Day Four
The
Excuse
"My grace is all you need, for my power
is greatest when you are weak."
II Corinthians 12:9
Something bothered King Saul. He won the battle--but something really
bothered him. In fact he was beside himself.
The prophet Samuel had told him, “Wait seven days, until I
arrive, then we’ll sacrifice, to the Lord.”
Easy for you to say, Samuel.
“ But...where on earth
are you? What am I going to do? I’m looking foolish in
front of my army. Another battle is in the making and my men are nervous and
splitting the scene.I’ve got to take
action…Samuel, I don’t care what
God told me to do. I’m about ready to
lose everything... especially my
reputation! Wait on God? Obey such a
foolish command? Well, I’m the one
here. I’m the one caught in a hard
place. No one understands what I’m up against.”
So... Saul took matters into his own
hands and sacrificed to the Lord, a forbidden act. Almost immediately
Samuel showed up—angry!
·
“What
have you done?
·
Why
didn’t you wait?
·
Why
didn’t you obey?
·
You
have been foolish.
·
God
isn’t pleased with you.”
“Aw, come on, Samuel. What was I to do?
People were leaving and you didn‘t come. The enemy was gathering force.
Poor me. I had no choice. This wasn’t my fault. Why don’t you understand?
What was I to do?”
And King Saul let out a long sigh. It
just wasn’t fair. God and Samuel were
not being reasonable. They were asking
too much. And he hung his head.
Great people don’t throw pity parties.
A king whose kingdom was destined
for greatness lost everything.
He didn’t obey.
He didn’t change his heart.
He threw a party.
All was lost.
