Happy Friday! It is April 12, 2024. Martin Luther King Jr. is quoted as saying: “The ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where they stand in moments of comfort, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.” If this is true (and it is), we will have many opportunities to be measured! When history is reviewed, how would King Saul be measured? How will you? Read on …
Today's Reading:
1 Samuel 13; 1 Chronicles 2,3; 2 Corinthians 12
Scripture
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him …” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Observation
Saul was in a desperate place, and he panicked. The Philistines were preparing to advance, and Samuel, the priest, was tardy in asking for the Lord’s favor in prayer and with sacrifice. So, Saul took matters into his own hands and neglected all he had been taught. He threw out everything he knew was right and, in the process, lost his kingdom. Saul’s fear was mixed with impatience. He disregarded divine protocol. His fears burgeoned into exasperation, and soon, they mushroomed into panic. The war was lost not because he had a reduced amount of troops. It was lost because he had a reduced his amount faith.
Application
Panic will trump faith … or faith will trump panic. You choose.
Situations or circumstances will not defeat us; it will be our intentional choices amidst them. Situations have no power, but our intentional choices do! Everything within us may seem to work against faith, but it is not “everything.” It is only a few things—unconquered fear, low-grade pride, or an inadequate level of spiritual discipline. The combination of these maladies left unconquered will dictate the way we make choices. Faith is not built automatically.
It is only built… intentionally.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, there will be multiple times when I will face "defining moments" in my life. In these instances, I need the wisdom, patience, and strength of Your Spirit the most. It is the measure of my faith that will either welcome His involvement or my lack thereof will limit it. I need You more than ever. Increase my faith so that Your strength can enter where I am weakest.
“I need Thee, Oh I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee.
Oh, bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee.”
(Hymn: I Need Thee Every Hour - by Annie Hawks in 1835)
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