Who's in charge?

1Samuel 13:9 So Saul took charge. “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” He went ahead and sacrificed the burnt offering.

Saul is waiting for Samuel to come and officiate at the sacrifices so he can take his army and attack the Philistines, who are gathering in force. The seven days appointed have come and Samuel still isn’t there, and Saul is getting anxious because the longer he waits, the more men run off from his armies in fear. So he goes ahead, and loses God’s favor on his kingship. The problem here it seems to me, is that Saul has stepped out of his role. He has taken charge. As King, he is in charge of the battle strategies and leading his men, but Samuel is the priest, the prophet, the intermediary between Israel and God. And Saul steps into that role with no knowledge or background or understanding, and against God’s explicit instructions because of his own anxieties. So what is it that Saul doesn’t get? He doesn’t get that Samuel anointed him, at God’s bidding; that God is in charge, and can rout the Philistines with only two men if necessary (which happens on the very next page, with Saul’s son Jonathon, who really does get it); and that his job is to lead the people as their king, not as their priest, to obey God in all things and to stick with what he knows. All of this leads me to wonder, where am I stepping out of what God calls me to? Where in my life am I taking charge of what God needs to be in charge of? Am I responding to my own anxiety instead of listening to the voice of God and trusting? Do I act out of fear instead of faith, making foolish and precipitous choices just as Saul did? Or do I see my fear for what it is, and refuse to allow it to take over and push me into action which does not represent God’s call?

Prayer:

Dear God, Anxiety is a potent force in my life, and I know it can push me into doing things that aren’t right, just to get it over with. Help me recognize and accept my anxiety for what it is -- fear of the future or of the unknown -- and use it as a reminder to turn to you in confidence and faith. Amen