The Lord delights in our obedience beloved. It is what He seeks; not sacrifice. God wants us to obey Him not the rituals of man. The story of Saul is a tragic one. He could have had everything but he got ahead of God. He trusted his circumstances and leaned on his own understanding. He blamed others for his own poor decision making. He allowed fear to dictate to his faith. In the end, he tried to wrap this falling away up in God but it was too late. God knew that Saul thought of God last in the process, when he should have thought of him first. The Kingdom would be taken from him and his family. He would lose everything.
But as always, God tells us the tragedy so that we can learn from it. When we obey God and put Him first, then it doesn't scare us to see people scattering in our lives during our difficult circumstances. We act on faith that says God is bigger than our circumstances. When we obey God and put Him first, then we take responsibility for our actions and do not seek to blame anyone; especially not God. When we obey God and put Him first, we do not allow our fear to dictate to our faith. We allow the perfect peace of God to reign and rule in our lives and hearts; knowing the author and finisher of our faith is faithful to complete the good work He has started in us. He is the beginning and the end beloved; don't lose Him in the middle.
Reverend Anthony Wade April 16, 2009
