SEPTEMBER  13

COMMITMENT, NOT CONVENIENCE

I SAMUEL 9:15 – 10:13



And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.” (I Sam. 13:13)

Many people think that whatever the Lord wills to happen occurs regardless of what we do. This verse proves that wrong. The Lord had plans to establish Saul’s kingdom over Israel forever. If Saul would have obeyed, then we’d be talking about the sure mercies of Saul instead of the sure mercies of David (Is. 55:3 and Acts 13:34). David wasn’t God’s first choice – Saul was. Yet, he didn’t accomplish all of God’s plans for him because of his disobedience.

Saul’s disobedience wasn’t hatred for God. Saul had an arrangement with Samuel to wait seven days for him to come and offer a sacrifice before he engaged in battle with the Philistines. Samuel didn’t show in the allotted time, so Saul offered the sacrifice himself.

Saul wasn’t eager to disobey the Lord. He waited the amount of time Samuel had said. But, circumstances “forced” him to disobey God, or so Saul reasoned. The truth is that those who obey the Lord only when it’s convenient will never have God entrust true leadership to them.

The kingdom of God is going uphill, while Satan’s kingdom is headed downhill. In other words, following God is never the easy thing to do. Those who don’t commit themselves to obeying Him at all costs will always find a reason to do otherwise. Obedience is based in commitment, not convenience.

God has great plans for your life (Jer. 29:11). But you need to cooperate by following Him at all costs. (AW)